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The UK Shareholders Association said it has received hundreds of phone calls from "irate" customers who disagree with the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley.

In a newsletter issued to shareholders, UKSA reported it is now considering a shareholder action group to address the issues, as in the case of Northern Rock.

It said shareholders needed answers to a number of pressing questions, including why the company was nationalised and if the rights issues should have been allowed to go ahead.

It also questioned whether shareholders were wrongly induced to subscribe to the rights issues, given that the fund raising was “insufficient to stabilise the company”.

The association reported that those who had subscribed for the recent rights issue were "particularly outraged".

It also said shareholders needed to know whether the comments about the strength of the company, just before nationalisation, were misleading.

Compensation is also a key question, as UKSA said shareholders have a right to know if they will get any and on what basis it will be determined. It said that with respect to human rights legislation and UK legal precedent, the government should compensate for "confiscation of their property".

The association suggested that the bank was nationalised because the government might have wanted to avoid accusations of "dithering" and a repeat of the "Northern Rock saga".

It concluded that there are several possible grounds for action by shareholders. It points out that Northern Rock had less than 150,000 individual shareholders, whereas Bradford & Bingley has about 900,000 and has asked shareholders for volunteers to join a steering committee.