YOU reported that Chancellor Alistair Darling has been called before the Commons Treasury Select Committee to explain his handling of the Northern Rock crisis (Echo, Sept 22).

All of the participants in this, the Government, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England have behaved badly.

However, the most responsible for this crisis is the board of directors of Northern Rock. Before the Rock became a plc, it was very successful as a building society, depending mainly on customers' savings to finance mortgage lending.

When it became a plc, the board wanted rapidly to increase its share of the mortgage market and did so by depending on borrowing money from other banks. As we all know now, the board got its fingers very badly burnt.

It is all very well for the management to give reassurances to the 6,500 employees that there will not be any compulsory redundancies, but it cannot speak for any future owner.

It was nice to see local celebrities opening savings accounts in support, but would they put their life savings in Northern Rock? I don't think so.

Keith Dewison, Billingham.

I THINK Northern Rock has behaved disgracefully towards its old loyal customers, aided and abetted by this Government which could have announced a reassurance of their money much sooner.

The majority of people standing in the Rock queue on a bitterly cold day on a Monday morning looked middle-aged or were pensioners (the woman next to me was 83) and were just protecting their hard-earned life savings.

They were the type who took out a mortgage when young (based on one wage then) and probably struggled at times to pay it. Over the years they carried on loyally saving and supporting Northern Rock, only to then be treated in this shabby fashion at the end of the day.

Greed and bad management have taken over this once solid establishment. Are they worthy of anyone's trust and loyalty now?

Mrs Jean Bird, Shildon, Co Durham.

NORTHERN Rock - today's "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank"?

Shame on the powers that be at both the Bank of England and the Northern Rock for not having sat and watched Mary Poppins with their children. If they had, then perhaps they would recall the scene where the children go to work with their father at the bank and the staff there try to open an account for them with their penny-a-piece.

The resultant refusal by the children to participate results in other customers coming to a totally wrong conclusion and causing a mass of panic withdrawals.

Sometimes prudent silence is far greater than open honesty.

Name supplied, Darlington.