Brown backs anti-loan shark scheme

One of the aims of the initiative is to prosecute illegitimate lenders that charge extortionate interest rates and use intimidation to ensure repayment.

The scheme, which should be in place by the end of 2008, will see enforcement teams tackling areas where illegal lending is at its worst.

“The pilots in Glasgow and Birmingham have already put some of the worst bullies in Britain behind bars,” said trade and industry minister Ian McCartney.

“Today we send a clear message to loans sharks everywhere in Britain. There is no hiding place. Wherever you are, we will seek you out, prosecute you and make you pay.”

A new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that the poorest members of society are still at risk from serious debt because they do not have access to mainstream lending institutions.