The firm's £24bn taxpayer debt will be split into government-backed bonds and sold off to investors as a "back stop" to fund a private sector rescue, Mr Darling said.
But Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said the company's loans and guarantees, totalling £55bn, amounted to a £2,000 "second mortgage" for every family in the country to "rescue the reputation" of the government.
Lib-Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable called it a "private sector solution without private sector money" and added that the taxpayer was "being taken for a very, very big ride". Mr Darling said the bonds were necessary because bidders, including Virgin and the Olivant investment group, had struggled to raise funding following the credit crunch.
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