Sir Fred Goodwin is just a small pawn in the chess game of money, power and control.
A group calling itself Bank Bosses Are Criminals has claimed responsibility for vandalising the Edinburgh home of Sir Fred Goodwin, the disgraced former chief executive of RBS bank.
In an email sent to local newspapers, the group called for bank bosses to be jailed and warned: “This is just the beginning”.
The attack saw the windows of Sir Fred’s home, in Edinburgh’s upmarket Morningside area, smashed, along with those of a dark-coloured Mercedes S600 saloon parked in the driveway.
Sir Fred is understood to be abroad and the attack is believed to have been reported to police by a member of his household staff at 4.35am on Wednesday morning.
Minutes afterwards, an email was sent by a woman using the name Moira McLeod and the address [email protected].
The email read: “Fred Goodwins house in Edinburgh, was attacked this morning.
“We are angry that rich people, like him, are paying themselves a huge amount of money, and living in luxury, while ordinary people are made unemployed, destitute and homeless.
“This is a crime. Bank bosses should be jailed.
“This is just the beginning.”
Sir Fred was subject to heavy criticism after refusing to give up any of his £700,000-a-year pension, awarded after he stepped down following the disatrous acquisition of Dutch rival bank ABN Amro which saw RBS bailed out by the taxpayer.
The massive payout was branded “obscene” and “grotesque” by MPs and “unjustifiable and unacceptable” by Prime Minister Gordon Brown but Sir Fred insisted any changes to it were “not warranted”.
A police car was visible on Wednesday morning standing guard outside his home. Three smashed ground-floor windows of the stone villa were clearly visible, as were the smashed rear and nearside rear passenger window of the Mercedes.
There were no obvious signs of activity inside the house.
A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswoman said: “We can confirm we attended at an address in Morningside around 4.35am today.
“Inquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing. We are appealing for witnesses.”
It has been reported that RBS continued to pay for personal security for Sir Fred following his departure, including CCTV monitoring of his home.
An RBS spokesman said: “We are aware of the incident but it is a matter for police.
“There are security arrangements in place for Sir Fred, as is normal practice for departing executives.”
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she was unaware of the damage until she walked past the house.
“I’m surprised that nothing has happened sooner as there has been so much publicity,” she said.
“I feel sorry for his family but I think people’s emotions are running very high in today’s environment.
“Like it or not, we are in a blame society and are always looking for someone to blame.”
Another neighbour said: “It is shocking, that is totally unnecessary – absolutely shocking. Nobody deserves that.”
By Aislinn Simpson
Last Updated: 3:00PM GMT 25 Mar 2009
Source: The Telegraph