Sickening Royal Bank of Scotland bosses faced a nationwide chorus of disgust yesterday after announcing bonuses of over half a billion pounds - despite making losses of over £8.2 billion this year alone.

The state-owned bank has lost £46bn over the past six years but chief executive Ross McEwan brazenly defended the bonanza £576 million payout by declaring it was "only fair" on fat-cat investment bankers.

He said: "We need to pay these people fairly in the marketplace to do the job."