Fred Goodwin returns home to Scotland

Sir Fred Goodwin, the former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has returned from his self-imposed five-month exile on the French Riviera. The disgraced banker, who became a national hate figure after he was awarded a £703,000-a-year pension despite the near-collapse of RBS, appeared outside his Edinburgh home on Saturday. Ignoring questions from the media, Goodwin - once nicknamed 'Fred the Shred' for his ruthless job purges - ventured out for a few minutes' stroll before heading back inside.

Goodwin and his family decamped to a luxury gated community near Cannes in March after a group of protestors targeted the £3m mansion, smashing the windows and damaging a Mercedes S600. Since then the former CEO's pension has been reduced to £342,000 a year and the Goodwins have decided to return home, despite no longer having the 24-hour security they once enjoyed at RBS's expense.

According to the Times, Goodwin - who celebrates his 51st birthday today - will remain at home alone until later in the week when his wife Joyce and the couple's two children return before the start of a new school year.

A family friend told the newspaper that Goodwin no longer wanted his family to live like "virtual fugitives" in France. "He wants to keep a very low profile for the sake of his family and allow them to return to Britain for as normal a life as possible," the source said. "He has no job offers or any work in the pipeline - it's all about getting back for the kids." ·