Presbyterians to appeal to Gordon Brown over savings

Presbyterians across Ireland are being advised to write directly to the British prime minister and ask him to step in and rescue their savings.

A letter from the Presbyterian moderator was read out in churches today as thousands of people face losing their life savings.

The Presbyterian Mutual Society has been in administration since November.

As it is a mutual society, and not a bank, it falls outside the British government's rescue package.

In the open letter, the Moderator, Dr Donald Patton said Gordon Brown's decision to guarantee the banking system had triggered the crisis.

The mutual society had been going along nicely before he did so.

Now many thousands saw their life savings disappearing, he said, calling on the church to hold together through "stormy times".