Brown accused of Rock 'dithering'

David Cameron asked whether £55bn had been spent

The prime minister has been accused of "dithering" and failing to deal quickly enough with the Northern Rock crisis.

Tory leader David Cameron suggested he had been advised to sell the troubled bank, but had delayed because he was planning an autumn general election.

He also asked Gordon Brown to confirm that a reported £55bn in taxpayers' money was used to prop up the bank.

Mr Brown said he had taken all decisions in the "interests of the stability of the economy".

He also refused to provide a "running commentary" on the figures, saying it was up to the Bank of England to announce them.

You dithered and delayed, why did you dither and delay? Because you were planning a general election David Cameron

But Mr Brown said it was still the government's "intention" to get back all the taxpayers' money.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Brown said the government would look in the next few weeks to see if it could find a buyer for Northern Rock - but said "no option" would be ruled out.

Mr Cameron suggested the prime minister did not grab an opportunity to push for a sale to Lloyds TSB and had been advised to sell the bank "straight after" funding problems triggered the first run on a bank in more than 100 years.

Economic instability

"You dithered and delayed, why did you dither and delay? Because you were planning a general election," he told Mr Brown.

The prime minister replied that Mr Cameron was wrong to suggest there had been a prospect of a deal with Lloyds TSB, or that his financial advisers had pushed for an immediate sale.

I don't apologise for taking the action that is necessary because it ensured the stability of the economy Gordon Brown

Mr Brown added that the government's actions had been taken to stop economic instability spreading further and were supported by the Bank of England, the Financial Service Authority and, initially, by the Conservatives.

He repeatedly challenged Mr Cameron, who he said supported the government's actions last September, to say whether he still supported "our action".

"The substance of the issue is that if we had not intervened to save Northern Rock there was a danger that would spread across the whole economy," Mr Brown said.

Mr Cameron said the taxpayers' concern would be the total figure spent on Northern Rock, which have been reported to amount to £26bn of emergency loans and £29bn in guarantees.

'I don't apologise'

He said the prime minister "simply cannot bear to read out" the total cost to the taxpayer.

He asked whether it was true he had been advised it could reach such a "huge level" when the guarantees were given - or give an assurance that the level of support would not go higher.

Mr Brown responded: "I've said we will do what is necessary to protect the stability of the economy and I don't apologise for taking the action that is necessary because it ensured the stability of the economy."

He said it was not the practice of "any government" to pre-empt the Bank of England's announcement of the figures.

Mr Cameron said that if the bank was nationalised it would be a "massive failure of government policy and a fresh chapter in the incompetence of this government".

'Empty shell'

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the Conservatives did not have a clear policy on Northern Rock.

He said: "The Conservatives have repeatedly stated that the nationalisation of Northern Rock would be a disaster, yet they have completely failed to offer what their alternative would be if a viable private bidder cannot be found.

"We must assume that if no private bidder can be found, the Tories would rather see Northern Rock go into administration. "It would seem that the Tories' rhetoric, like the rest of their economic policy, is nothing more than an empty shell of warm words and zero substance."