SNP ducks responsibility over RBS bail-out

In the week that Sir Fred Goodwin is once again in the headlines the SNP have said that an independent Scotland would not take a share of the debt resulting from the bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Alex Salmond encouraged the bank's bid to buy ABN Amro – a deal that helped push the bank into collapse - by writing personally to Sir Fred in 2007.

Months later his Finance Secretary John Swinney then wrote to Sir Fred to congratulate him on the deal with the Dutch bank.

However, the SNP has insisted that if Scotland separated from the rest of the UK, it would not share the UK Government's £187billion exposure to rescue the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Scottish Conservative Murdo Fraser, Committee Convener for Economy, Energy and Tourism, said: "If the UK Government had not acted when it did not only would RBS have collapsed with the loss of thousands of jobs, but Bank of Scotland would have gone out of business too.

"These were Scotland's two biggest companies and two iconic institutions woven into the fabric of Scottish life who only survived because Scotland is part of Britain and all the financial security that comes with being part of such a successful economic and social union.

"Alex Salmond and his ministers were egging Fred Goodwin along in his expansion plans, which led directly to RBS' downfall. Now they cannot simply re-write history, and pretend that they have no responsibility for RBS' debts.

"It's high time Alex Salmond was straight with the electorate on what exactly an independent Scotland would look like. We need a grown-up debate on what will be the biggest decision in 300 years for the Scottish people. They deserve nothing less."

Attached is a letter from Finance Secretary John Swinney to Sir Fred Goodwin on October 2007

RBS debt:

January 11: Mr Salmond told Channel 4 News that "the people responsible [for RBS] ... were the London Treasury. Unfortunately, they were also responsible for regulating, or at least misregulating, the financial sector as well. I'm afraid people have to take responsibility for the past mistakes they made."

In the same interview, Alex Salmond also insisted that a separate Scotland would take 90 per cent of the UK's oil.

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