So why did all you great financial brains demand that it be rescued last autumn when a simple underpaid physicist like myself said publicly "markets work, let it go to the wall"? I am available as a government advisor or financial columnist for a fraction of your salaries.

Eric Skelton, Cardiff, Wales

To Andy S, Reading,

Which bit of "you're protected for £35,000" do you not understand?
and Phil, Preston you've got it in one. Oh and GB it was all wasted, you're going to go down in history as the most useless Prime Minister we have not voted for.

C Byrne, Pinner, UK

Brown did it to save his own skin and reputation. Brown wants to go down in history as a great chancellor and N R would have destroyed that idea to the waste bin. We all know it was a mistake to rescue the bank with nationalisation. The 10 years of labour why didn't they rescue the other companies??

dave reardon, nuneaton,

This is one thing the government got right,If Northern Rock had been allowed to fail,the whole of the banking system/city of London would have been called into question.Which bank or building society would have been next?,I suppose its easy to say let it fail ,until its your money at risk.

DAvid G, Altrincham, England

I do not think the taxpayer will ever get all his or her money back.

Roger Sherrin, Nairobi, Kenya

I agree with the lady lorry driver who was quoted in the Mail on Sunday as saying that Gordon Brown couldn't run a bath!

IanJ, Mold, Wales

For the reasons given, nationalising N Rock was a huge error. Moreover, the many whose final pensions were lost or cut (like mine with Equitable Life) purely because of Brown's stealth taxes & refusal to accept (his-FSA-Treasury) responsibility, resent the way he acts only to serve his own interests

Tony, London, UK

Victor Blank, Lloyds Chairman, is advising TPG who have bailed out B&B. BOE/FSA and Gordon Brown rubber stamp it. Lloyds also enters deal with NRK to take on "quality" mortgages. GMAC (owed money by B&B) finalise bail-out by US banking system (i.e FED). Join the dots....BOE/FED covert bank bailouts.

John Smith, manchester, UK

Had the Government not taken the action it did what would have happened to the savings of those with more than £35,000?
Unlike shareholders they do not expect their money to be at risk. A bank account is meant to be safe and the whole system relies on this confidence.

AndyN, Reading,

We all know that nationalising Northern Rock was not a question of economics. It was purely a matter of protecting Labour's self interest. A major bank going bust on Brown's watch would just not do.

chris, woodbridge, england

That rescue involving our money was to save the backsides of 28 North Eastern Labour MPs.

Simple as that

Phil, Preston,

Until everyone recognises the stupidity of supporting the idea that as a nation we can continue with a system that provides no access to the necessary equity to create new industry from those savings, yet can support common trading companies trading in imaginary assets nothing will stop the decline.

Chris Coles, Medstead, Alton, United Kingdom

Am I being naive is wondering, hopefully,that my NR shares mite, ONE DAY, be worth something or shd the certificate be consigned to the recyling bin???
B. Harbottle, V. Water, Surrey

Bridget Habottle, Virginia Water, UK

TAXPAYERS should be complaining! The NR bribe - £27B, £1,000++ each - apart, we now have to 'rescue' B&B, and the rest, at even higher cost. Darling and King, who orated that they knew what to do - let NR fail - lacked the backbone to do it and created a precedent, enforceable under EU law.

Noel Falconer MEcon, Couiza, France

Of course complaints from rivals have been muted as many of them, without the publicity which attended N.Rock's aid, are being helped by the Bank of England. It gained them the elbow room to sell off assets to reduce this debt, or applly to shareholders for more funds. N.R. was not given that option

S. Barraclough, Huddersfield, W. Yorkshire

The banks arent complaining because they dont have the cash to refinance NR's debtors.
If NR was closed to new loans now it would precipitate a housing market crash

Dominic, Manchester, UK