From The Times
January 19, 2009

Hundreds of billions of taxpayer money to bail out the banks again

Sam Coates, Chief Political Correspondent, and Helen Power

The taxpayer will be asked to gamble hundreds of billions of pounds today in a second bank bailout.

The Government will offer a massive package to guarantee lending and insure banks' bad debts.

Barclays may have to accept government stakes to take part in the £200 billion scheme under which the taxpayer could foot a potentially unlimited bill for bad debts such as sub-prime lending in America.

High street lenders were locked in negotiations last night over the terms of the insurance plan, which will provide payouts from the public purse if the value of a bank's “toxic assetsâ€