Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will investigate the collapse of Bradford and Bingley plc in 2008.

The Government has no plans to conduct an investigation into the collapse of Bradford and Bingley plc in 2008.

The National Audit Office concluded in its report of 4 December 2009 that the public support provided to the UK’s banking system by the Treasury was justified, given the scale of both the economic and social costs if one or more major banks had collapsed. In providing that support, the Treasury met two of the Government’s principal objectives, namely maintaining financial stability and protecting retail depositors.