Commenting on Lord Stevenson’s statement that nationalisation or the Lloyds’ takeover were the only options for HBOS, Tavish Scott, leader of the Liberal Democrats said:

"Scaremongering the shareholders of HBOS is wrong. This board should resign.

"Shareholders who want to keep HBOS independent should not be intimidated. They are acting for the benefit of the bank's and Scotland's future.

“The taxpayer taking a chunk of HBOS has more chance of saving staff jobs and retaining strong competitive banking competition across Scotland and the UK than the Lloyds’ takeover.”