Leading Articles

Latest

Lord Pearson's bailout fears come true

Monday, 10th May 2010

British taxpayers will be landed with bailing out failed economies such as Greece’s, in a move that UKIP leader Lord Pearson warned about earlier this year.

Labour’s City Minister, Lord Myners, could not rule out the possibility of British workers being forced to prop up wasteful Euro zone members when Lord Pearson brought up the matter in the Lords in March.

Lord Pearson asked: Will he (Lord Myners) give a clear guarantee that the United Kingdom will not, willingly or unwillingly, contribute to any out bail-out of the member states, including the proposed European monetary fund?

Later that month, the UKIP leader wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph in which he again warned that despite not being a member of the ruinous Eurozone, Britain would almost certainly be asked to bail out Greece’s dangerously flawed economy.

Lord Pearson wrote: I fear Britain can already be forced to bail out Greece under EU Treaties (report, “EU draws up plans for single 'economic government’”, March 26). The Government admitted to me in the Lords on March 15 that “any request for financial support… would be considered by the… Council, where it would be voted on by a qualified majority.

"I also fear that the euro’s difficulties will not break up the EU itself, as many now hope. Even if Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland all fall out of the euro, it will not stop the European integration project.

"Instead, it will be taken by the Eurocrats as the best 'beneficial crisis' yet, to be overcome with “more Europe” under the powers granted at Lisbon."

Today Lord Pearson’s fears were finally confirmed as it emerged that one of Labour’s last acts as government will be to underwrite the massive debts incurred by wasteful European governments, forcing British taxpayers to donate upwards of £13bn.

The Daily Telegraph reports: "Alistair Darling has caved in to a demand that British taxpayers underwrite at lease £13bn of debt held by other European governments, amid fears that the Greek debt crisis could spread."