Cathy Jamieson MP, Labour’s Shadow Treasury Minister, responding to reports about bonuses at RBS, said:

“George Osborne is in a terrible muddle over bankers’ bonuses. He is spending taxpayer’s money on a legal fight in Brussels against the bonus cap and yet imposing the minimum cap at RBS.

“The Government has bowed to pressure on RBS and finally admitted that bonuses of two times salary would be unacceptable at what remains a Bank in Government ownership. They voted against Labour’s motion to impose the minimum cap at RBS in January, but have now been forced to reverse their position.

“But confusingly at the same time the Chancellor is supporting higher bonuses in Lloyds Bank and elsewhere.

“People who are facing a cost-of-living crisis are rightly angry about excessive rewards for failure in banking over recent years. The Chancellor should accept the logic of today’s announcement and drop his legal action to block the bonus cap.

“And he should heed Labour calls to implement existing legislation on transparency in pay at the top and repeat the tax on bankers’ bonuses to pay for a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee for young people out of work for a year or more.”