Alistair Darling has just told the BBC that the government will fully compensate savers in Icesave.
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, told the BBC at 8:30 this morning that the government will fully compensate savers in Icesave. He will give further details in a statement to the House of Commons at lunchtime.
Yesterday, many savers in Icesave were extremely concerned after the Icelandic owner of Icesave, Landsbanki, collapsed. It looked as though savers would have to claim compensation from an Icelandic scheme on any savings up to £16,100. Further compensation would come from the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Darling's interview this morning has changed everything. The government will now compensate all savers in Icesave with no limit on the compensation. That's great news. The Chancellor didn't extend the guarantee to other banks, but we'll be listening carefully at lunchtime for more on that.
The Chancellor also revealed that he had spoken to Iceland's finance minister yesterday and been told that Iceland wouldn't compensate UK savers in Iceland. Darling was clearly angered by this answer.
We'll have more to say once Darling has made his statement to the House of Commons. We'll also cover the bailout scheme for the UK banks.