George Osborne: RBS internal split best for taxpayers

Chancellor George Osborne has been explaining the decision not to separate RBS into 'good' and 'bad' banks, against the earlier advice of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

He told BBC business editor Robert Peston he had asked the "best experts in the world" and was told it would be best for taxpayers to carry out the split "within the umbrella of the existing bank".

Mr Osborne also described as "shocking" a report which found that RBS was "a lousy lender to small businesses".