UK may pay £4.4bn as Portugal seeks EU bail-out

Portugal has become the third nation to ask the European Union for financial assistance.

Caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates said the country was "at too much risk that it should not be exposed to". Portugal, which has seen ratings agencies downgrade its debt in recent weeks, follows Greece and the Irish Republic in seeking a bailout. Socrates did not reveal how much aid the country would ask for, but the BBC estimates it could be as much as £70bn. "I always said asking for foreign aid would be the final way to go but we have reached the moment," Socrates said. "Above all, it's in the national interest." Reports suggest that, despite an explicit guarantee by the ...