Savers who lost money with the collapse of the Presbyterian Mutual Society in Northern Ireland were thrown a lifeline today, after British prime minister Gordon Brown agreed to set up an official group to look into the problem.
First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness hailed the move as an encouraging step forward following talks with Mr Brown at 10 Downing Street tonight.
While the Government has no legal responsibility to bail out savers, Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness said the Prime Minister appeared to accept a moral responsibility to help them.
While the Government guaranteed deposits of up to £50,000 in banks battered in the global meltdown, it has no requirement to do so in the case of the PMS, because it was not registered with the Financial Services Authority.
The 9,500 members of the PMS — some of whom have lost their life savings — have not received a penny since its collapse in November, as they are legally treated as "investors" rather than savers.
Now Mr Brown has asked Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward to set up a group including representatives of his own department, Number 10, the Treasury, the Northern Ireland administration and eventually the FSA to look into the problem over the coming weeks.
Speaking in Downing Street after the talks, DUP leader Mr Robinson said the establishment of the group was "as much as we would have hoped we could have succeeded in getting today".
He said: "It indicates an engagement by the prime minister. It indicates there is a will to assist the savers in PMS and we will be looking at a period of probably three months where we will attempt to find a way forward."
He added: "The prime minister, if you were speaking to him now, I think, would be indicating that he doesn't have any legal obligation, but recognises that the people who put their funds in the PMS are people who should be given whatever assistance it is possible to give."
Mr McGuinness said he was "very encouraged" by Mr Brown's proposal.
"Even though they believe that there isn't a legal responsibility on the Government, I think he recognises that many, many people have put their life savings in the PMS and found themselves victims of circumstances way beyond their control," said the Sinn Fein MLA.
"I think there is a moral responsibility and I think that is recognised by the decision of the Prime Minister to establish this group. I am tremendously encouraged and even confident that a solution can be found."
The hour-long meeting also featured discussions on the devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont, with Mr Robinson stressing the importance of financial support to bolster community confidence in the changes.
"The big issues are getting community confidence and the finance in place. Even in terms of getting community confidence, the financial element is an important part of that," he said.
Mr McGuinness characterised the discussions on policing as "very useful".
"As we have seen with the terrible news of the attacks on the Romanian community in Belfast, it is vital that we see the Police Service well equipped to deal with challenges not just in that regard but in relation to
other situations in the future."
Earlier today, Mr Robinson urged Mr Brown not to leave the decision over the future of the police reserve in the hands of Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde because he is set to leave as head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in September.
"Has the Prime Minister any level of concern about the expressed intention of the Chief Constable of the PSNI to axe the full-time Police Reserve in Northern Ireland?" Mr Robinson asked at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.
"Does he recognise that there is a heightened level of dissident activity and that the Chief Constable is leaving his job? Is this not a decision that should be left to the new Chief Constable?"
Mr Robinson later added: "This is the wrong decision on a number of levels, not least because Northern Ireland still has a small dangerous element within society who remain intent on bringing violence to our streets."
The removal of the full-time police reserve is part of the Patten reforms which transformed the Royal Ulster Constabulary into the PSNI in a bid to secure greater cross-community and political support for policing in Northern Ireland.
The new policing structures now involve Sinn Fein and the nationalist SDLP for the first time in the region's history.
But earlier this week the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, raised concerns over proceeding with the removal of the police reserve while dissident republicans remain violently opposed to the peace process.
PA