Best-selling novelist Iain Banks has joined forces with academics, businessmen and MPs to accuse the Government of misusing of the Royal Bank of Scotland and other bailed-out banks.
In a letter to a Sunday newspaper, the group said the Treasury was "writing a blank cheque" for the rescued banks to finance "anything from destructive fossil fuel companies driving climate change to hostile takeovers that threaten UK jobs".
In their letter to the Observer newspaper they called on the Government to transform RBS, which is receiving more than £50bn of taxpayer support and is 84 per cent state-owned, into the "Royal Bank of Sustainability" to help turn the country into a low-carbon economy.
The letter's signatories include Gordon Roddick, who founded The Body Shop with his late wife Anita, Alan Simpson MP, Billy Hayes, the boss of the Communication Workers Union, and the convenor of the Church of Scotland, Ian Galloway.
They said: "We believe that the Treasury has failed to push RBS and the other bailed-out banks towards supporting the investments our country needs.
"The Treasury's inaction on these issues ultimately works against the government's objectives on a range of issues, including job creation, energy, healthcare and climate change. Nor will this 'business as usual' approach generate financial benefit to taxpayers, as it is we who will, once again, ultimately have to pick up the tab for the banks' reckless lending practices."
It is thought the signatories are referring to reported RBS support for US food giant Kraft's hostile bid for British confectioner Cadbury, a deal that is feared will cost UK jobs.
The bank has also been accused of contributing to social upheaval in places like India and the Democratic Republic of Congo by financing oil and gas exploration.
The letter added: "It is not too late to transform RBS into a Royal Bank of Sustainability, ensuring that it and other publicly backed banks help pay for Britain's transition from a high-carbon economy with rising unemployment to a low carbon society that provides millions of green jobs and better public services."
Other banks bailed out with billions of pounds of taxpayer funds include Lloyds Banking Group and Northern Rock.
Last updated: 29 November 2009, 11:05
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