George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor: “To regard today as a triumph, as some in Government seem to do, is bizarre. And it misjudges the public mood. For this is no triumph. It is a necessary but desperate last-ditch attempt to prevent catastrophe."

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader: “It is welcome that the next stage of this bailout has taken place so fast and will hopefully begin to stabilise the market.

“The financial collapse we are caught in may prove to be an economic 9/11. 9/11 was a security crisis, with security implications. This is an economic crisis, but its economic and social security implications are potentially no less profound.”

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary: “The Government has shown strong leadership and decisiveness in a time of great uncertainty. The measures announced today must be bound to undertakings by the banks of no job losses, no repossessions and an end to the bonus culture.

“Thatcher buried Keynesian economics and the current crisis shows just how wrong she was.”

Jonathan Loynes, Capital Economics: “Public borrowing and debt are already set to rise sharply as a result of the slowdown in the economy already seen. These extra developments merely increase the likelihood that, at some point in the future, very heavy tax increases or spending cuts will be required to get the public finances back into a sustainable position."

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol: “If this opens up the market as it ought to do, that should increase the amount of lending that other banks can do. I would expect to see three month Libor fall back and that should mean that some of the banks will cut back their tracker rates.”

Keith Bowman, Equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “It is still too early to appreciate the ramifications of these moves. However, for now, the hope is that today will mark a watershed, with vast measures of government reassurance finally rekindling some confidence in the shattered banking sector.”

Credit Suisse analyst: “Overall, we continue to believe that measures put in place by the UK Government, as well as the huge amount of liquidity being pushed into the system by the BoE are extremely useful for the sector. This is demonstrated in cash and credit markets.”

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