'We’ll fight to get billions from iceland banks'
BRITAIN faces a legal battle to get back the money it paid to savers with money in collapsed Icelandic banks after Iceland’s voters again rejected a repayment settlement.
A senior Minister revealed yesterday the Government is to launch a case to recover billions of pounds deposited by British savers.
Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “We have an obligation now to get that money back, and we will continue to pursue that until we do.”
Around £3.5billion is due to Britain and The Netherlands following a bail-out of IceSave and other banks by the Icelandic government following the 2008 international financial meltdown.
Mr Alexander, speaking on BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show, admitted a second Iceland referendum result was again “disappointing.”
He said: “There is a legal process going on, and we will carry on through those processes to try and make sure that we do get back the money that the British government laid out in past years.”
It’s a very substantial sum of money; it’s several billion pounds
The Coalition Government was looking at pursuing the case through a court of the European Economic Area.
He added: “It’s a very substantial sum of money; it’s several billion pounds.
“And that’s something that was laid out under the previous government to bail out people in the UK who’d saved with IceSave and other banks.”
