Britain was just three hours away from going bust last year
after a secret run on the banks, one of Gordon Brown's Ministers
has revealed.
City Minister Paul Myners disclosed that on Friday, October
10, the country was 'very close' to a complete banking collapse
after 'major depositors' attempted to withdraw their money
en masse.
The Mail on Sunday has been told that the Treasury was preparing
for the banks to shut their doors to all customers, terminate
electronic transfers and even block hole-in-the-wall cash
withdrawals.
Only frantic behind-the-scenes efforts averted financial meltdown.
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If the moves had failed, Mr Brown would have been forced to
announce that the Government was nationalising the entire
financial system and guaranteeing all deposits.
But 60-year-old Lord Myners was accused last night of being
'completely irresponsible' for admitting the scale of the
crisis while the recession was still deepening and major institutions
such as Barclays remain under intense pressure.
