Labour say RBS sell off could cost “as much as £1 billion” to the taxpayer

Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie has slammed George Osborne today over the sale of shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland, which he claims will cost the taxpayer “as much as £1 billion”. He also claims that the two criteria the Tories as a prerequisite for selling the bank have not been met.

Leslie said:

“Labour has always supported the eventual return of RBS to the private sector but taxpayers who bailed out the bank will want their money back and will be suspicious of any fire sale. The Chancellor needs to justify his haste in selling off a chunk of RBS while the bank is still awaiting a US settlement for the mis-selling of sub-prime mortgages.

“Two years ago George Osborne said 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 has yet been passed.”

He added that it was not impossible to get back the money paid when bailing out the bank:

“George Osborne’s rush to begin the sell-off of RBS has meant a loss to the taxpayer of as much as £1 billion.

“Taxpayers who bailed out RBS and who have now lost out will want to know why the Government has sold these shares at a discount and while the bank is still awaiting a US settlement for the mis-selling of subprime mortgages.

“Getting back the taxpayers’ money is not an impossible objective and the Chancellor is dismissing this too lightly.” 

Leadership contender Yvette Cooper echoed Leslie’s remarks, saying that the situation has been “handled disastrously” and that taxpayers “are losing out”. “George Osborne needs to explain urgently why he has got us all such a bad deal”, the Shadow Home Secretary said.