London - Britain's Northern Rock mortgage lender, which was nationalized in the wake if the credit crisis, reported losses of 585 million pounds (1.17 billion dollars) Tuesday for the first six months of 2008.

The Newcastle-based bank, which was taken under "temporary" government control in February, said most of the loss came from the charges it took to cover losses from struggling mortgage borrowers.

However, Northern Rock also paid back a loan of 9.4 billion pounds from the Bank of England, reducing the amount owed to 17.5 billion pounds. The figures published Tuesday relate to the period from January up to the end of June.

The government nationalized Northern Rock following the first run on a British bank in more than a century.

The lender was the first British casualty of the credit crunch triggered by exposure to the US subprime market.

Analysts said the bigger-than-expected losses are a blow to the government which will once more come under pressure to justify its conduct in the Northern Rock debacle and the involvement of the taxpayer. (dpa)