FRESH calls are being made to return Northern Rock to its mutual society roots after bank chiefs brushed off rumours it has already been sold.

Dave Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon, has backed a petition by the Co-operative party urging Chancellor George Osborne to halt the sale of Northern Rock and re-examine its proposal for turning it back into a building society.

The Chancellor put the bank up for sale in June with the Treasury understood to be hoping to find a buyer by the end of the year, although the actual deal could take a little longer to finalise.

Speaking at the time, Mr Osborne said he had been advised that a sale would make more money for taxpayers and should be explored as a first option.

But the Chancellor insisted that mutualisation of Northern Rock was still possible.

Yesterday Mr Anderson said: “The Co-operative party’s option of a customer-led remutualisation would raise billions for taxpayers and should not be ignored, but the alternative could lose taxpayers’ money that was put into shoring up the Rock.