The Royal Bank of Scotland has been in dire straits. So dire that it had to receive £20bn of taxpayers money to not go bust. On top of that, they are expected to post losses of billions of pounds in three weeks time. So imagine my surprise when I learned today that RSB has set aside £1bn to be paid out as bonuses. For what? Is the practice of a bonus not to award someone who has helped their business succeed, not fail?

The fat cats of RBS are aware that this might be hard for the public to swallow. So to seem a little less greedy, they have decided to cap this year’s bonuses at £25,000, with the rest being made up in shares in the bank. £25,000! That is almost as much as the average wage in the UK, and an enormous slap in the face of taxpayers. The Chancellor, Alistair darling told BBC this morning that he had reached an agreement with RBS that no one associated with the losses were to be rewarded, but that due to contractual problems the bonuses are likely to be paid. He continued to say that ‘in some cases bonuses might even be appropriate’. Mr. Darling said that the average teller is not terribly well paid and no one would dispute them being rewarded. Both he and I know that it is not likely that my friendly teller will see a bonus of £25,000. I put my money on the people who got us where we are today.