ROYAL Bank of Scotland today said it was consulting with unions over plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs in the next two years - of which 4,500 will be in the UK.

The bank, which is now 70% owned by the Government, is cutting the roles from its backroom staff under plans to save £2.5 billion over the next three years.

RBS added that the actual number of jobs lost was likely to be "significantly lower" due to natural turnover, fewer agency staff and voluntary redundancies.