Iceland alert unheeded

I am bemused at the situation facing local authorities that invested in the Icelandic financial sector. In Scotland, for example, more than £45 million of taxpayers' money may be at risk as a result of the banking crisis (your report, 10 October).

Earlier this year several international agencies cut the credit rating of Icelandic banks, and the growing risk of the Icelandic banking system had been highlighted in some cases since early 2007. Warnings were passed on to many local authorities, prompting some to stop investing in Iceland. For example, South Yorkshire police and fire authorities stopped investing in Icelandic banks in June.

This raises the question of whether our local authorities were given inappropriate advice, or given advice they chose to ignore.

ALEX ORR
Bryson Road
Edinburgh