Under the glare of the spotlights in the Glasgow Hilton ballroom, Lord Robertson, latterly head of Nato, laced his address to the Scottish PLC Awards dinner with a touch of fatherly advice that touched on evangelism.

"Is this not the time for cold judgment and some patience?" he asked his audience after reminding them how Goodwin had built a company of which Scotland should be proud. "Panic and hysteria threaten us all," he said. "They should not be allowed to prevail."

One expected him to lead a chorus of 'Flower o' Scotland' amid a sea of waving Saltires. Instead, everyone adjourned to the bar.

Shareholders who have been meeting the RBS boss privately over the past few days will have made it clear where they stand on his track record and will have judged for themselves whether patience is a virtue.

Some in the City had called for the head of Goodwin or his chairman, Sir Tom McKillop. One London newspaper quoted an analyst saying that what the bank needs is a heavyweight English executive on the board.

Of course. As we said here last week, the City just doesn't like the idea that RBS is Scottish. But the dastardly southerners were sent homewards tae think again as Goodwin and McKillop escaped the executioner's axe.

Even so, the pair remain on Death Row with the expectation that they'll get the chop within a year to 18 months, enough time to distance themselves from the events of the past two weeks and restore some credibility.

The irony of the bank's fall from grace was not lost when it received the award for company of the decade at last week's gong-fest. While other companies sent along their chief executives, not one member of the RBS board was present to pick up the trophy, typical of the aloofness that has been another constant cause for criticism. One day, somebody may think of erecting a statue to Sir Fred. Let's hope he doesn't have his back turned to the rest of us.

RBS has a rebuilding job to do that is every bit as big as its gargantuan headquarters. With HBOS expected to show its hand this week, it will be interesting to see if it, too, has any dirty linen it wants to wash at its annual general meeting, or whether it will take the opportunity to play oneupmanship with its chastened bigger neighbour.

Lord Robertson is now among those urging us to forgive RBS's senior executives for stripping the balance sheet of £12bn, writing down £5.9bn in assets, and leading shareholders and the media up the garden path. It will be interesting to see if RBS shows similar sympathy and understanding towards its customers when they default on their credit cards, loans and overdrafts.

Somehow, I don't think so.

BAA needs capacity, not competition

EVEN before a decision is taken on the future of Britain's principal airports, buyers are being lined up for what is turning into a beauty parade. Some don't fancy Heathrow or Stansted, but like the look of Glasgow and Gatwick, and these latter two are being talked about as if they were already on the market.

The Competition Commission inquiry that has prompted the sales talk is looking at ways to improve efficiency and end the drudgery for passengers. The prevailing view is that competition would be a good thing.

Well, it misses the point. Competition is not the issue, it is capacity. Evidence shows that Glasgow and Edinburgh are distinct markets with hardly any overlap and that having them compete would do nothing to improve the performance of either. Passengers will continue to use their preferred local airport.

What have Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Dubai got that Heathrow, in particular, does not have? They are all building new runways. Heathrow is stuck with its two runways and they are both full to bursting. It only takes one slippage in the schedules to cause a chaotic knock-on effect on other flights.

Okay, so BAA must shoulder a huge share of the blame for the Terminal 5 fiasco, but there is no evidence that having a competing airport in the east end of London – City Airport – has improved the travelling experience. Planes are regularly delayed and cancelled, while passengers are stuffed, often standing, into a cramped departure lounge. If that's what awaits us under a competitive regime then we'll be dashing for the railway stations.