Britain has devastated our economy, Iceland complains
Britain has devastated our economy, Iceland complains
An Icelandic minister launched an extraordinary diplomatic attack on the British Government as she issued a direct plea to MPs to help rebuild shattered relations between the two countries. In a letter seen by The Independent, the Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir condemned Britain's use of anti-terror laws to freeze the assets of Iceland's crisis-hit banks and protested that the language used by British ministers had caused "devastation" in her country.
Ms Solrun Gisladottir even accused the Government of provoking attacks on Icelanders visiting Britain by stoking hostility towards her country. "Icelanders as a nation have been tarred with the same brush and are suffering real abuse in some cases," she said.
Relations between London and Reykjavik have become so strained that Iceland's Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, is threatening to sue the Government for resorting to anti-terror legislation. Iceland's Kaupthing Bank has instructed a law firm to investigate the seizure of its UK subsidiary, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander (KSF).
Iceland's key interest rate was raised yesterday by a huge 6 per cent to a record 18 per cent in a bid to meet the requirements of a £1.28bn rescue loan by the IMF. When the scale of Iceland's crisis emerged, Gordon Brown condemned the behaviour of its government as "totally unacceptable". Officials from both sides have sought a solution but Ms Gisladottir's letter confirms the gulf between the countries.
Abandoning diplomatic niceties, she said: "We are doing our best to sort out the situation in talks with the UK Treasury. But we have been shocked by the measures taken by the UK Government. It has been very difficult for Icelanders to understand how anti-terrorist legislation can be used by a close ally and friendly neighbour. It makes no sense to see an Icelandic company listed next to al-Qa'ida and the Taliban on the Treasury website."
She said Mr Brown's actions had made business between the two countries "extremely difficult", adding: "It is my hope that we will be able to rebuild the very positive and long-standing relations between the UK and Iceland."
The Labour MP Austin Mitchell, who chairs the all-party British-Icelandic parliamentary group, urged David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, to resolve the impasse. "Our government has been heavy-handed and abrupt in dealing with the Icelandic problem," he said. "We should have helped but we bullied and made the problem worse." The Icelandic government said that Britain had "set a tone that is difficult to get away from".
The Foreign Office insisted there were still strong ties between the two Nato allies but said anti-terror laws could be invoked when Britain faced a "threat to its financial security". The Chancellor, Alastair Darling, ordered the seizure of Icelandic assets after he became worried by emergency loans made to the island's banking system by Iceland and Sweden's central banks.
On 7 October, the Financial Services Authority seized Heritable, an offshoot of the Landsbanki bank. A day later it took control of Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander and Landsbanki's assets in the UK. Mr Darling claimed the move was necessary to protect British depositors. He told the BBC that the Icelandic government had "told me they have no intention of honouring their obligations" – but Reykjavik has strenuously disputed this claim.
Kaupthing's case could involve a £2bn High Court damages claim against Mr Brown and Mr Darling for misfeasance in public office. Richard Beresford, a partner at Grundberg Mocatta Rakison, the firm of solicitors representing Kaupthing in the UK, said the main thrust of the lender's case was that Britain wrongly applied legislation introduced to nationalise Northern Rock to seize KSF's assets. He said this was only allowed under the Banking (Special Provisions) Act if there had been a "systemic" risk to Britain's banking system.
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What is so unusual about that?
Isn't it standard operating procedure to do that? Look at Taliban.
Al Qaeda was designed to remedy the lack of enemies...
I hope that the Icelanders will be smart and close down its entire banking system for a while in order to audit each and every transaktion made and go after the criminals wherever they are: In Reykjavik, New York or London. They will protect their own interests that way and they will provide for the rest of the world very strong indications about the nature of the crisis. We all know that "sub prime mortgages" have little to do with it and that by all likelihood this is part of a greater scheme to fleece the tax payers everywhere to enrich the few who have positioned themselves strategically in banking, the "news" media and the political establishment. That is why no US presidential candidates have no way they can protect US interests.
Down in Australia we have a joke about the British it goes .
Q : How do you set an Englishman up in a small Business ?
A : You give him a big business to start off with .
Never trust a country which gave the world something as idiotic as Morris Dancing .
I'd just bet that Iceland could get a hell of a deal for basing rights for the Russian navy and air force.
Since both the Icelanders and the Russians are blood kin Vikings anyway, it seems like a natural fit.
No country has more potential surplus hydro and geothermal to generate hydrogen for export, along with some of the worlds best remaining fishing grounds. Iceland should do just fine IF they get away from the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" mentality and get back to reality.
... is just plain ridiculous and shows the laws for the farce they really are. However, Iceland largely brought this crisis on themselves, through living way beyond their means, far more so than any other nation.
Recently, internationally owned banks in Hungary have inquired among local companies - however small they are - to get lots of data that the money-machines do not have at their disposal at present. This is according to the law, they say, to prevent my poor country from terrorists. For God's sake, am I being a terrorist? A self-employed freelancer who is obliged to manage revenues through the bank, otherwise not be able to run a tiny bit of business? Frankly speaking, and not willing to be rude, I only just haven't been asked the size of my shoes. I haven't yet given them any information yet, though.
Claymore, I like the idea of signing up with the Russian navy for the Icelanders. My country is just shifting in their position. Thermal water, medicinal spas abound here, too. No oceans or seas but straight connection to the Black Sea via the Blue Danube.