The Royal Bank of Scotland has provoked outrage after it said it would move its headquarters to London if Scotland becomes independent after Brexit.
Ross McEwan, the outgoing chief executive of the banking group, said the bank would be “too big for the Scottish economy” at an editors’ dinner this week.
He said: “I think you would if you talk to the Scottish Government they would want us to take the plaque and move it to England because the balance sheet size of this thing would just be too big for Scotland – 730-odd billion, you can’t support it.
“So that would be the change, same as it was four years ago.”
Laughable…
— Dr Paul Monaghan (@_PaulMonaghan) August 7, 2019
Most rural communities in Scotland have already been completely abandoned by @RBS.
The idea that RBS would move to the only country in the world intent on isolating itself from the international trading community says everything.#scarestories https://t.co/cpYlEl7wSG
The comments come as Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon upped the ante on calling for a second referendum following Brexit.
Meeting with the new Prime Minister she said Boris Johnson’s “hard-line” Government is driving the country towards “disaster” by pushing for a no-deal Brexit.
She stressed: “The people of Scotland did not vote for this Tory Government, they didn’t vote for this new Prime Minister, they didn’t vote for Brexit and they certainly didn’t vote for a catastrophic no-deal Brexit which Boris Johnson is now planning for.
“Boris Johnson has formed a hard-line Tory Government with one aim – to take Scotland and the UK out of the EU without a deal.
“Scotland has been ignored throughout the Brexit process and it is now time for everyone who cares about the future of Scotland to come together to chart our own course and say to the Tories – stop driving our country towards disaster.”
A new poll commissioned by Lord Ashcroft also revealed a majority of Scots are now in favour of independence.
When those who said they did not know how they would vote, or said they would not vote, were removed, support for independence was at 52 per cent and 48 per cent were against.
In the EU vote 62 percent of Scottish voters wanted to remain in the EU while the UK as a whole voted by 52 percent to 48 percent to leave.