Darling fears bank disaster

BREAKING up the UK's major banks would be a "disastrous" move for the Scottish economy, former chancellor Alistair Darling has said.

The city MP warned that major financial players from across the world would "pack up and leave" the country, it was reported today.

He said job losses, particularly at the Royal Bank of Scotland in the Capital, would be inevitable and other major firms like Lloyds would be stripped of their assets.

Dismantling the largest banks, he said, was too simplistic and a "populist move".

He was speaking ahead of a major summit on banking in Edinburgh tonight.