RBS closure ‘cynical’

Sir, I am calling on the Westminster government to step in and stop the proposed closure of 62 Royal Bank of Scotland branches, and have already called on the chief executive of the RBS to revisit the decision.

These closures will have a devastating impact on all of Scotland but especially in the Highlands and Islands where 13 of these branches are earmarked for closure.

The reasons used in justification are cynical. We have the worst broadband in Scotland, and indeed in the UK, and therefore the ability to bank online is a distant dream rather than a reality.

While we rightly concentrate on service provision, we must not forget the staff who work in these branches. They are losing their jobs and the distance they would have to travel to alternative branches will make relocation impossible. Neither do they have a hope of gaining a similar job in these rural communities, where jobs are scarce.

These are closures being directed by the bank that we bailed out – the people making these decisions owe their own jobs to the communities they are now riding roughshod over. This bank belongs to the people and the bank must make the people its priority.

The Westminster government could intervene to stop this on behalf of all us, the shareholders. They must - because it was they who changed the way pensions were paid forcing people to put their pension straight into their bank account and now, because of that, they will be unable to access it. Rhoda Grant, Highlands and Islands Labour MSP.