SIR - I suspect the nationalisation of Northern Rock was inevitable and should be welcomed.

At least it is now out of the hands of the shareholders who allowed this bank and its managers to take unnecessary risks in an attempt to enlarge itself and compete in markets which it should never have been in.

However, I believe the real blame for this whole problem goes back many years. It was the last Conservative government which allowed building societies such as Northern Rock to end their mutual status and become banks.

In a building society the member owned the business, was central to all decision making and was at the heart of the business.

The Board was elected by the members on a one member, one vote basis.

The business was run for the members by the members.

When the Northern Rock ended its mutual status its member control, and therefore investor control, it was lost to the greed of faceless shareholder institutions who have repeatedly failed to provide the leadership needed and have not held the board of the bank to account for their decisions.

We can only hope that when the Government has returned the debt to the tax payer and put the bank back on an even keel, it will not return the bank to the same individuals in the City of London who caused this mess in the first place.

It should take the opportunity to return it to its investors and convert the bank once more into a member controlled building society or co-operative, returning wealth, power and opportunity to the hands of the many and not the few.

RICHARD UDALL, County councillor, Worcester.