Dr Donald Patton, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland, has called on the Government to protect the savings of investors in the Presbyterian Mutual Society.

Dr Patton met with MPs in Westminster on Wednesday, and a petition with over 28,000 signatures was handed over to the Government by Lagan Valley MP, Jeffrey Donaldson, reports the BBC. An online petition has also gathered almost 6,000 signatures so far.

The Presbyterian Mutual Society was forced to freeze pay outs to savers last autumn after it ran out of cash.

Dr Patton said that Prime Minister Gordon Brown should help savers in the society as he had already agreed to support the Dunfermline Building Society.

He said that it was important to "continue to highlight the case of the Presbyterian Mutual Society and its members", reports the BBC.

He also claimed that Mr Brown had given him assurances that he was aware of the difficulties faced by investors and that he would monitor the situation.