The chancellor, Alistair Darling, today announced a review of the protection afforded to depositors by offshore tax havens and foreign banks operating with branches in the UK . . .

. . . Britons with savings in off-shoots of Icelandic banks based in the dependencies stand to lose thousands of pounds following their collapse and have been appealing, unsuccessfully, to the UK government to bail them out.

The chancellor said: "They attract banking customers with lower taxes – without contributing to the UK exchequer. But at times of stress, depositors need to know who will compensate them. The British taxpayer cannot be expected to be the guarantor of last resort."  24-Nov-08.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/nov/24/pre-budget-report-offshore-savings