Banking (Special Provisions) Bill

The Minister is on shifting sands. I know that a week is a long time in politics, but when the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his announcement on Monday, he made it absolutely clear that: "““The Government have no intention ... to use the Bill to bring any institution other than Northern Rock into temporary public ownership””.—[Official Report, Commons, 18/2/08; col. 22.]" Last night, the Minister started flirting with the need for ““necessary defences”” in a ““rapidly changing environment””. Does he realise that the Bill has cast a shadow on the banking industry? It is about time that he made the position absolutely clear. Is it just for Northern Rock or is it to cover some other circumstance which the Government can or cannot foresee at present?