Sir Fred Goodwin ponders exile in pension row

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It was also claimed today that Sir Fred was considering leaving Britain amid the growing row over his £30million payout. He has already taken his two children out of school over fears for their safety.

Chancellor Alistair Darling ordered lawyers to pore over the former Royal Bank of Scotland chief's huge award to see if legal action can be taken to curb the pay-off.

Evidence to the Treasury select committee shows Sir Fred signed a "compromise agreement" with approval of RBS chairman Tom McKillop and renumeration chief Bob Scott. It meant both RBS and Sir Fred waived their future legal rights to alter the deal.

Quizzing Glen Moreno, chairman of the Treasury's UK Financial Investments arm which handles the taxpayers' interests in the partially nationalised banks, Liberal Democrat MP John Thurso asked: "Lord Myners, as someone who was well practised in these matters, would have known that the moment the compromise agreement was signed it would become wholly legally binding. Is that not correct?"

Mr Moreno replied: "I suppose so." He then added: "This was not a normal situation. A bank was about to go bust". A letter from RBS legal chief Miller McLean, handed to the Treasury committee, also declared that the pension pay-off was "automatic".

It states: "Sir Fred Goodwin's pension arrangements followed as an automatic consequence of him being asked to leave."

The UKFI claims it has "extensive legal advice", and its chief executive John Kingman said legal action could begin within weeks.