Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the sale of RBS shares this morning, said:”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.”