Treasury Minister Allan Bell has described comments by his United Kingdom counterpart on the Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander affair as "absolutely astonishing and wrong on just about every level".

Answering questions from a UK Treasury Select Committee in Westminster early yesterday evening, Alistair Darling said he wouldn't rescue anybody with offshore savings.

He also said politicians and regulators should reconsider the United Kingdom's relationship with the Isle of Man, and that his government was to take "a long hard look" at its status as a tax haven.

On Mandate this morning, Mr Bell said Mr Darling failed to recognise the Isle of Man's relationship with the UK, and the fact it had responsibility for the Island's international affairs, under a long-standing agreement.

Mr Bell refuted the suggestion the Island was tax haven in the Irish Sea, saying there was no banking secrecy, and referring to its "full transparency and cooperation with the United Kingdom".

He added it was only a matter of weeks since the Island signed a tax information exchange agreement with the UK.

Mr Bell went on to say there was no suggestion the Isle of Man was going "cap in hand to the UK, looking to them to solve our problems".

All it wanted was a return of the ?550 million of Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man depositors' money which was "inadvertently frozen by the UK, in their action against the Icelandic government".

Mr Bell (pictured) said urgent calls would be made to the Ministry of Justice to clarify what was going on (audio file attached):