AN MSP has called the Royal Bank of Scotland's decision to shut branches as a "betrayal".

Alex Rowley, who represents Mid Scotland and Fife, joined the trade union Unite's protest in Dunfermline against the closure programme.

RBS have already shut branches in Kelty and Cowdenbeath and announced in December that a further 62 would go – although 10 were this week given a reprieve.

Mr Rowley said the bank had let down communities across central Fife and gone back on promises.

He told the Times: “When I met the bank officials to object to the closure of the Kelty branch, they told me we have access to a branch in Cowdenbeath and one in Kinross, both within a few miles.

"Then they closed Cowdenbeath and now they are closing Kinross and their executives don’t seem to care what impact these closures are having on local communities and people’s ability to get into a bank."

The bank closed branches in Kelty in 2015 and in Cowdenbeath last year.

And it's not just RBS. In Lochgelly, the last bank branch – it's a Bank of Scotland – is closing on February 27.

When their branch closed, Kelty customers were advised to go to the RBS branch in Kinross but it is now one of the 52 that are now set to close.

RBS announced this week the reprieve for 10 branches after it "listened and engaged with customers", with most of the branches in communities where there was no other RBS branch within a nine-mile radius.

Kinross was not on the list but when it closes the nearest branch for customers will be in Dunfermline, more than 12 miles away.

Mr Rowley said: "In the last decade the taxpayer paid out £45 billion to bail out the failed executives of RBS in the financial crisis.

"The taxpayer still owns the bank and yet the payback for its salvation is the proposed closure of one in three of its branches across Scotland.

"This is a betrayal of the people of Scotland."

Unite have accused RBS of a serious breach in banking protocols for branch closures and are urging bank executives to stop the closure programme and think again.

The union pointed out that the bank spends more on sponsoring rugby than they will save on the latest round of closures and that RBS made a profit of £900 million in the third quarter of last year.

Explaining the reasons for the closures, RBS said: "As customers change the way they bank with us, we must change the way that we serve them and this means that some branches will have to close.

"Closing a branch is a decision we take very seriously. We know it can affect people in the local area and we’ll always work hard to guide you through the changes and find the best way to serve you from now on."