The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
‘Positive talks’ give hope in fight to halt RBS closures
BANKS: SNP MP upbeat after meeting with officials – but rival parties hit out
Hopes were raised over the weekend for closure-threatened branches of RBS.
Communities across Scotland are fighting to stop a promised programme of closures, blamed by the bank on changing customer habits.
Banks in Aberfeldy, Pitlochry, Kinross, Dunblane, Comrie, Montrose, Dundee (Stobswell) and Perth (South Street) are among 62 set to be axed.
But the leader of the SNP at Westminster revealed he expects a “positive” outcome after talks with RBS officials.
Ian Blackford said “good progress” had been made in discussions but faced a backlash from opposition party members.
Mr Blackford, MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland programme he was “pleased to say that good progress has been made and I expect a positive announcement” after a number of meetings.
He said: “I have been encouraged by the positive nature of the talks that we have been having.
“These talks are ongoing but I hope that we are very close to a resolution that can give some hope to a number of communities that Royal Bank of Scotland branches can remain open.”
He added: “I know that others have been involved as well – for example the Scottish (affairs) select committee.
“We are at the stage that in principle that we recognise that something has to be done in order to keep a number of bank branches open, but I want to wait until we are in a position that a formal announcement can be made.”
He also said he had bypassed Prime Minister Theresa May for the talks, after she said she could not intervene in a “commercial matter” for the bank.
He accused the Conservatives of “letting Scotland down by failing to lift a finger to save these vital local banks from closure”.
Conservative MP Colin Clark, whose Gordon constituency is set to lose several RBS branches, accused Mr Blackford of “undermining” the work of the all-party Scottish affairs select committee.
He said: “It would appear that Ian Blackford is trying the take the headlines for this, whilst that committee has taken the lead on it.”
Shadow secretary of state for Scotland Lesley Laird said she was “astounded” by Mr Blackford’s actions.
She said: “There should be no back room deals done with RBS and I hope that is not precisely what Pete Wishart, who is chair of the committee, and Ian Blackford are doing.
“The committee is in the process of trying to bring RBS chief executive Ross McEwan to appear before it – which so far he has refused to do.”
The bank declined to comment.