UK report claims RBS has tried to force small business into default

Royal Bank of Scotland is facing allegations of “unscrupulous” treatment of small businesses in a report claiming the lender drove firms to collapse to buy back their assets at rock-bottom prices.

Businessman Lawrence Tomlinson, who is entrepreneur in residence at the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, said he had uncovered a dossier of evidence alleging that taxpayer-backed RBS has deliberately forced companies into default to seize their properties.