UK Government has a duty to bail-out Icesave customers

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at money website Fool.co.uk, says: "The UK Government must step in without delay to keep British Icesave customers properly informed. There are a lot of worried customers, and they are anxious because they do not know whether their money is safe.

"The Government should have foreseen something like this happening, and if it didn't, then we have to ask why not. Contingency plans should have been put in place to ensure that savers are spared the anxiety of "passporting", where customers have to claim a portion of their compensation from the Icelandic authority and the rest from the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

"The passporting scheme has never been stress tested, and should it be found wanting, then the Government must ensure that all UK customers are fully reimbursed."