Duke urges banks to show restraint

He also criticised politicians for handling their expenses "badly" in a wide-ranging interview ahead of his 50th birthday on Friday.

Andrew spoke of his relationship with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. He said the Duchess of York had moved back in with him at his home in Windsor despite their divorce 14 years ago.

But Andrew – father of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – denied they would remarry, saying they were just "good friends".

Andrew, who spent 22 years in the Royal Navy and now acts as UK Ambassador for Trade and Industry, was nicknamed "Airmiles Andy" for his use of planes and the Queen's helicopter to jet around.

He justified the thousands of pounds it costs by stating demand for his services had increased and he was carrying out 628 engagements last year.

On the other hand, the Duke said, bankers needed to be made aware of the "injustice" felt in the face of bonus payouts continuing after the bail-outs.

"It would not be a bad idea if bankers were to go and sit occasionally with politicians in their political surgeries, where they might get a sense of the injustice that some of the community feel about the banks. It may then change their tune as to what is meant by restraint."

His comments came as 10,000 City bankers are expected to receive payouts of more than 1 million thanks to super-size bonuses. The figure is more than double the number recently predicted by the City minister Lord Myners.

Detailed forecasts being used by major banks suggest that a quarter of their investment bankers will be rewarded with 1m average pay packages, according to senior sources in the City.

Lord Myners has previously labelled the pay packages "grotesque"

But pay consultancies have advised banks that the top quarter of staff should be paid such huge rewards to keep them in line with their peers elsewhere and prevent them from being poached by rivals.

Liberal Democrat economic spokesman Vince Cable said bankers were "utterly incorrigible".

Singer Billy Bragg took his protest against the payment of large bonuses to the former Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in Edinburgh. He is calling on Chancellor Alistair Darling to cap bonuses paid to chiefs at the bailed-out bank. The campaign currently has 30,000 online supporters.

Bragg is refusing to pay tax on his earnings until the government imposes a 25,000 limit on the sum paid to RBS bosses.