Banks go begging for £40bn lifeline in the biggest nationalisation deal in history

Britain's leading banks will today come cap-in-hand to ask taxpayers for £40billion in the biggest nationalisation in history.

They were locked in all-night talks at the Treasury negotiating an unprecedented financial lifeline designed to prevent a catastrophic collapse of the entire industry and the worst depression since the 1930s.

Gordon Brown (left) and Chancellor Alistair Darling: There were all-night talks at the Treasury to hammer out the £40bn rescue plan

There were signs that after months of uncertainty, the plan unveiled by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling last week for the Government to buy large stakes in high street banks has established a blueprint for the rest of the world.