The government has said it is considering changes in legislation following the Northern Rock crisis.

Downing Street was responding after Bank of England governor Mervyn King told a select committee he believed four laws contributed to the crisis at the bank.

Northern Rock has seen about 70 per cent of its value wiped out since it applied for emergency Bank of England funding, and queues formed at branches around the country as depositors tried to remove their savings.

King, appearing before the Commons Treasury committee on Thursday, blamed both the takeover code and the market abuse directive - which he said prevented him from arranging a covert takeover of Northern Rock by a larger, well-capitalised bank.

He also blamed part of the Enterprise Act 2002, which means deposits in failing banks are frozen.

King said this made it perfectly rational for customers to try to withdraw their money before the bank went under.

And he said the financial services compensation scheme, which offers protection for £35,000 of savers' money, also provided an incentive for depositors to withdraw their cash.

The prime minister's spokesman said chancellor Alistair Darling would make a statement to the House of Commons when Parliament returns on October 8.

"This is something the Treasury is looking at and clearly these are complex issues," he said.

"We want to make sure we get any changes in the legislation right.

"Financial markets are becoming increasingly complex and fast-moving and so it is right that all our legislation is kept under constant review.

"The governor has put forward a number of proposals and we will look at that."

The chairman and chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, which has been criticised for not tackling Northern Rock's lending model before it hit difficulties, are due to appear in front of the committee on October 9.