Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said:

“Taxpayers who bailed out RBS want their money back in full and will rightly be suspicious of any rush to sell. When RBS is still restructuring the business, and awaiting a US settlement for the mis-selling of subprime mortgages, a premature sale poses a risk for taxpayers.

“It is highly dubious for the Chancellor to claim that significant losses on RBS are somehow acceptable because a gain can be made selling Lloyds or other completely separate assets.

"The Chancellor said two years ago that he would only countenance a sale of RBS when ‘the bank is fully able to support our economy and when we get good value’. Neither of these tests have yet been passed.”

ENDS