Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, responding to reports that RBS may ask the Government to approve a rise in the EU’s cap on bank bonuses, said:

“At a time when families face a cost-of-living crisis and bank lending to business is falling, it cannot be right for George Osborne to approve a doubling of the bank bonus cap.

“It shouldn’t have taken the EU to act to rein in excessive bonuses, but there has been no action from the Chancellor here in Britain.

“As the majority shareholder, the government should reject any request from RBS to increase the cap. We will put this to a vote in the House of Commons as part of our opposition day debate on the Government’s wider failures on banking.

“The case for repeating Labour’s tax on bank bonuses, to fund a compulsory jobs programme for young people, is getting stronger by the day.”

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