Five directors resign from Anglo Irish Bank board

Five directors on the board of Anglo Irish Bank have resigned today as the Government prepares to take the firm into state ownership.

Noel Harwerth, Anne Heraty, Michael Jacob, Gary McCann and Ned Sullivan have written to the bank's chairman, Donal O'Connor, to advise him of their decision.

They say it will allow the Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to appoint new board members once the bank has been nationalised.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party is hitting out at the Government for changing the proposed legislation to nationalise the company.

A clause relating to the withdrawal of money by customers who owe a lot of money and have more than €20m on deposit is being dropped.

Labour spokesperson Joan Burton is questioning whether big developers and businessmen lobbied against the move.