British govt takes Northern Rock

Feb. 18 - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced a political and public backlash after nationalising the ailing bank Northern Rock.

Brown used new legislation to take over the bank, which is Britain's fifth largest mortgage lender. Northern Rock was forced to borrow 25 billion pounds ($49 billion) from the Bank of England last year, after the global credit crunch ruined its funding model. Irate shareholders are now set to take legal action.

Andrew Potter reports.