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| Advisers to meet for HBOS talks | Advisers to meet for HBOS talks |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The first minister's economic advisers are to meet in private next week to discuss Lloyds TSB's controversial £12bn HBOS take-over plan. | The first minister's economic advisers are to meet in private next week to discuss Lloyds TSB's controversial £12bn HBOS take-over plan. |
| Labour's leader at Holyrood, Iain Gray, has asked for public access to the meeting in the national interest. | Labour's leader at Holyrood, Iain Gray, has asked for public access to the meeting in the national interest. |
| But this was rejected by the SNP who said the advisers reported to parliament in the normal way. | But this was rejected by the SNP who said the advisers reported to parliament in the normal way. |
| The talks are aimed at building the case to retain headquarter functions and jobs at the Bank of Scotland. | |
| Lloyds TSB is to take over HBOS in a deal which will create a banking giant holding close to one-third of the UK's savings and mortgage market. | |
| In a letter to Mr Salmond about the meeting of advisers, Mr Gray said: "It is clear that questions and concerns about the Scottish economy, in general, and HBOS, in particular, must be on the agenda. | |
| LLOYDS vs HBOS Branches - Lloyds 1,900; HBOS 1,100Customers - Lloyds 16 million; HBOS 22 millionEmployees - Lloyds 70,000; HBOS 72,000Savings - Lloyds is the UK's fourth largest savings provider; HBOS is the market leaderRetail savings balance - Lloyds £65bn; HBOS £139bn "As these matters are of such national interest and public concern I have asked the first minister to strain every sinew on behalf of the Scottish people by allowing his own Council of Economic Advisers to speak in public about how they believe Scotland's case is best advanced. | |
| "In these exceptional circumstances the Scottish people deserve to hear what the Scottish Government's economic experts have to say." | |
| He also called for a full transcript of proceedings to be published, rather than a summary note. | |
| The talks have been set up to help form Alex Salmond's business case for Scotland when he delivers it to Lloyds TSB. | |
| The first minister wants to retain headquarters functions and jobs at the Bank of Scotland's traditional home on the Mound in Edinburgh. | |
| A spokesman for the first minister said: "The Council of Economic Advisers is a formidable body of experts, and its purpose is to give quality advice to government on the challenges and opportunities facing Scotland - not to be the butt of Iain Gray's political knockabout. | |
| "It reports to parliament and public in the normal way." |