Cancer hospital to get back £6.5m

The Christie hospital will recoup £6.5m lost during the collapse of the bank

The Christie cancer hospital in Manchester is to get back £6.5m which it lost during the Icelandic banking crisis, hospital bosses have revealed.

The money was lost when the bank Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander (KSF) collapsed last year.

Last month charity workers, cancer patients and their families took a petition with 100,000 signatures to Downing Street to lobby the government.

The money will to be paid back by the government through the NHS North West.

The funds had been raised by volunteers and charity workers.

We have always been determined not to rest until this money was returned to us Caroline Shaw, chief executive of The Christie

The charity generates about about £13m each year to help pay for extra patient services and research.

Caroline Shaw, chief executive of the Christie, praised the "fantastic support" the centre had received since it launched a campaign to recoup the lost money.

She added:"We have always been determined not to rest until this money was returned to us."

The Withington-based hospital had applied for a judicial review of the decision after the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) turned down its claim in March.

Louise Hadley described her reaction to the news

A month later a government committee recommended that charities should be compensated for money lost in the Icelandic banking collapse.

Ms Shaw added: "Last week our papers were filed in the High Court, but in view of this cash offer we have agreed to withdraw legal proceedings."

The money will now be paid back by the regional strategic health authority.

Mike Farrar, chief executive of NHS North West, said: "Having such an important cancer centre potentially compromised in such an unprecedented event moved us to look at how we could help."

Hospital chiefs had always maintained no jobs would be affected by the loss of money but had said it could have threatened future research or plans for new buildings.

The Christie has an annual budget of £153m and treats more than 40,000 patients.