Treasury criticised over £80m consultants' bill

The Treasury is due to face heavy criticism from MPs today for spending at least £80million on consultants for advice on how to save stricken banks.

The National Audit Office was expected to reveal that consultants received the big payments for work on the bail-outs of the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS.

The NAO was going to lift the lid this week on the secret £62 billion loan from the Bank of England to prop up the banks. But this was pre-empted by Bank of England governor Mervyn King, who revealed the lending last week.

Tory MP Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, is angry that he was not told "in confidence" about the secret lending. Ministers have insisted that making public the loan could have further destabilised the banks.