Royal Bank of Scotland is to close at least 32 of its NatWest branches throughout England and axe 600 jobs, according to union leaders.

RBS said in a statement: “Banking has changed significantly over the last few years and the way our customers want to interact with us is also changing.

“We have to continually adapt to meet our customers’ needs and to ensure we remain viable and relevant both now and in the future.

“This is clearly difficult new for staff affected by these changes.

“We are doing everything we can to support them, including seeking redeployment opportunities wherever possible and ensuring that compulsory redundancies are kept to a minimum.”