Rock nationalisation gets go-ahead

Opposition parties abandoned a bid to make the troubled bank subject to freedom of information (FOI) laws, ending fears of a night-long battle.

Ministers must now secure approval for an order specifically transferring the bank to public ownership, using the new powers pushed on to the statute book, in just three days.

And a new poll suggests they have public support for the move - with half of voters questioned by Populus for the Times backing nationalisation.

Peers had earlier inflicted three defeats on the Banking (Special Provisions) Bill, including an amendment forcing it to answer FOI requests.

Tories and Liberal Democrats joined forces to call on ministers to "let the people know the facts" about exactly where their money was going and how it was being used.

The changes - which also included demands for extra scrutiny by the Bank of England and the Office of Fair Trading - were resisted by the Government and overturned in the Commons.

Ministers insisted the FOI provisions were not appropriate given the commercial nature of the Bank's operations - and the fact that the nationalisation was designed to be temporary.

With a prolonged bout of Parliamentary ping-pong the only other option, the upper chamber ended the stand-off and the Bill was granted Royal Assent, becoming law.

The order transferring ownership of Northern Rock may now be passed within hours - with a further order dealing with compensation to shareholders following later.