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Darling faces RBS pension anger

Alistair Darling
Mr Darling has appealed to Sir Fred to give up his pension

Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted the government could have stopped ex-RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin from getting a £650,000-a-year pension.

But it did not realise this at the time when it agreed to pump £20bn of taxpayers money into the firm.

It thought 50-year-old Sir Fred's early retirement deal was "an unavoidable legal commitment," said Mr Darling.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne called Mr Darling's "excuse" that he did not know what was happening "pathetic".

He told BBC News "these pensions were awarded on their watch" and Mr Darling's admission showed the government "did not have a grip on events".

Speaking earlier in the Commons, Mr Osborne said Sir Fred's pension was "a totally irresponsible use of taxpayer's money" and he demanded to know if the former RBS chief had delayed his departure to negotiation the pension.

"Whichever way one looks at it, this obscene pension is unacceptable and the government is on the hook," Mr Osborne said.


It was only very recently that we became aware that the decision of the previous board of RBS to allow Sir Fred to take early retirement had the effect of increasing his pension entitlement
Chancellor Alistair Darling

RBS reports record corporate loss

"Either they did know and failed to act, or didn't know and failed to ask the right questions."

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said he agreed with Mr Osborne, adding: "This is a massive public spending increase, public wages, for which there is no justification whatever."

Mr Darling has appealed to Sir Fred to give up his £650,000 package amid growing cross party anger at rewards for failure.

'Excesses'

Sir Fred, 50, who helped steer RBS to the brink of ruin, was given a £16m pension pot which he can claim from for life when he took early retirement in October.

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Well there is an opt out clause that I can see. The pension is for life, right.
How much does a hitman cost?

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Grandad,

It's not his fault. He's entitled to it under his contract. He was not dismissed, he retired early at the board's request. It's the equivalent of asking the shop floor for voluntary redundancies and, as a sweetener, offering enhanced pension benefits.

The government know they've totally screwed up the last ten years by encouraging irresponsible lending by financial institutions and discouraging saving. Our kids will be paying for this for years and years.