Don't blame me for run on the Rock

Feb 5 2009 By Vicky Shaw, The Journal

BBC business editor Robert Peston denied yesterday that he was to blame for the run on Northern Rock as he was quizzed by MPs on his role in the banking crisis.

Speaking at a Treasury Committee hearing, during which the Government was accused of using journalists to force down share prices, Mr Peston also denied receiving any "special help" from a particular contact.

"What led to the collapse of Northern Rock was not the retail run, it was the wholesale run, institutions refusing to fund this bank," said Mr Peston.

He said Northern Rock would be where it is today irrespective of whether there had been a run on its deposits.

Asked if filming of queues added to the sense of panic, Mr Peston said it was "unarguably" the case it did reinforce concern.

When it faced similar concerns about its finances, fellow lender Bradford & Bingley had flooded its branches with staff, ensuring that there were no queues, said Mr Peston.

"They had learned from the structural failings of Northern Rock," he said.

"Maybe it was a failing on my part, but of course it was only after the event that I realised the weakness for Northern Rock in having so few branches to the number of their customers," added Mr Peston.

Speaking about his contacts, he said: "I never felt I was getting special help from any source at all."

He was also asked about whether particular access to the Treasury was behind his success.

He replied: "One of the areas that I am uncomfortable talking about is sources of any sort."

He said that over the years he had held conversations with members of the committee and it was unlikely that members would want him to divulge those discussions.

Mr Peston said he had good contacts in the City, Government, Whitehall and with the regulators.

"When I do a story it is normally a process of putting together a jigsaw puzzle," he said, adding that he was rarely "handed a story on a plate".

Mr Peston said he did not have a pass to the Treasury and said he was only there "a few times a year".