Iceland votes 'no' to Icesave debt repayment

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Iceland voted no to repaying £3.4bn owed to the UK and Holland by an overwhelming majority of 93% in a weekend referendum over the costs of bailing out collapsed bank Icesave.

When the internet bank failed in October 2008, governments in London and The Hague stepped in and reimbursed savers. Iceland maintains it will meet its obligations but has baulked at paying what it claims are punitive interest rates - despite the fact The Treasury has offered to halve the interest rate on the loan. Until a deal is reached, Iceland will not receive the next trance of an IMF loan, nor will its bid for EU membership be likely to succeed. Alistair Darling admitted it will be ‘many, many years' before Britain was repaid the £2.3bn it is owed saying "we've tried to be re...

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