Shareholders settle multimillion-pound claim against RBS

Shareholders who brought a multimillion-pound High Court action against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have settled their claim against the lender, sources have said.

The RBS Shareholder Action Group, which brought the £700 million lawsuit and represents 9,000 retail investors and 18 institutions, is understood to have informed the judge that they have accepted an 82p-per-share deal.

It means the disgraced former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin - who was stripped of his knighthood following the bank's near-collapse - is likely to escape having to answer questions over the events leading up to the Government's £45.5 billion bailout nine years ago.

The legal action centres on a rights issue overseen by Mr Goodwin in April 2008 when RBS asked existing shareholders to pump £12 billion into the bank after leading a consortium that spent £49 billion on Dutch lender ABN Amro.