Councillors fly to Iceland to recover lost millions

BARNET council officials are flying to Iceland in an attempt to recover £30 million tied up in the country's failed banks.

Finance chiefs from the local authority will accompany a delegation from Kent, which has £50 million under threat, to discuss the prospects of getting back part of the funds.

The councillors will be representing all other British local authorities in their meeting with administrators from Landsbanki and its UK subsidiary Heritable and Glitnir Bank. Kent council, which has the largest amount for any council, hopes that the £18 million locked in the UK-based Heritable will be safeguarded but it is also hoping to gain positive responses from bosses at Landsbanki and Glitnir about their deposits.

Administrators for the two banks are expected to provide details of the size of the banks' liabilities over their remaining assets, helping to indicate how much investors may be able to claw back.