Almost 60,000 people have now backed a regional daily’s fight to recover £6.5m which a hospital lost in a failed Icelandic bank.

Last month we reported how the Manchester Evening News was battling to get the cash back from Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander after the world-famous Christie Hospital, in south Manchester, had been advised to invest in it.

In the month since the campaign was launched, almost 60,000 people have voiced their support, including over 15,000 signatures on a petition on the Number 10 website.

Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg MP has signed the Cash Back for Christie petition after he met bosses at the cancer hospital while Chancellor Alistair Darling has said the Government is looking into the case.

Charities which lost money in the Icelandic banking crisis should get it back, according to recommendations made by MPs on the Treasury select committee.

Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander went into administration last October and managers at Christie have been trying to overturn a decision by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to reject their attempts to reclaim the cash.

The lost money had been earmarked for two new radiotherapy centres in Salford and Oldham but, with bosses funding these two schemes from elsewhere, planned cancer research projects have instead been shelved.

An attempt is being made to recoup a further £1m of public money through the bank’s administrators.

The loss of £6.5m represents around a third of the hospital’s annual research budget.

Lord Keith Bradley, chairman of the Christie charitable funds, told the MEN: “To have more than 60,000 people sign the petition in just one month is fantastic.

“This is people power at its best. Local people have spoken and we hope the Government will listen.

“We must get this money back for local cancer patients and we are so grateful for everyone’s amazing support.”