English defends SCF bailout

In a ministerial statement to Parliament he says during the period of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme, the Treasury and their advisors were in close contact with SCF and once it became apparent the firm was in difficulty, there were proposals either to acquire parts of the firm or to recapitalise.

"I instructed Treasury officials to work co-operatively with the firm on these options, however all effectively amounted to a bailout by the Crown, with extra cost and risk to taxpayers."

He says at no stage would the Treasury have recommended accepting any of these proposals.