Church to invest in Northern Rock shares.

Contact: The Christian Party, 07985 092528, leader@christianparty.org.uk

LONDON, Sept. 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- Rev George Hargreaves leader of Britain's Christian Party will take the unusual step this morning of encouraging his congregation to buy shares in the Northern Rock Bank the beleaguered British mortgage lender.  He will also carry his campaign to save the bank from profiteering hedge fund managers to party supporters throughout the United Kingdom and onto the Internet through his international Christian email network.

Photo: Rev. George Hargreaves

The Pentecostalist minister, who made a fortune by launching American Pop Idol's Simon Cowell's career with the 1986 chart hit 'So macho' by Sinitta, now pastors Hephzibah Christian Centre in the East End of London (England).  The church will lead by example by buying shares in Northern Rock when the stock market opens on Monday.

Rev Hargreaves says "I am deeply concerned by the revelation that some hedge fund managers have been driving down Northern Rock's share price by selling short "uncovered" shares in order to make huge profits."  The church leader believes that there is a Christian duty to act against the practice.

Rev Hargreaves added, "Apparently, unscrupulous hedge fund managers are underselling shares they do not even have, adding downward pressure on the share price.  They do this in the hope that they can buy the number of shares they have already sold at a lower price than their earlier sale and pocket the difference.  This is immoral market manipulation.  It should be stopped.  It should be illegal.  It would not be tolerated in the street-markets of London's East End nor should it be tolerated in the air-condition offices of London's financial sector."

Rev Hargreaves was alerted to the operations of city hedge fund managers when a Christian hedge fund manager, Philip Richards, exposed the practice in The Times newspaper.  Mr. Richards, one of London's most successful hedge fund managers, told The Times that Northern Rock is "A decent company that deserves to survive." and that "People are getting rich at the expense of real companies with real jobs."

Rev Hargreaves says, "I will not be acting as a financial advisor, but as a spiritual advisor.  With the usual caveat emptor warnings given, I will be asking my flock to stand against this evil profiteering in a practical way.  The way we can do this is by pitting our collective widow's mite against these City cheats.  Our church will lead by example."