On Tuesday the Aylesbury MP sent a letter to Eric Daniels, chief exec of Lloyds, in which he put the case forward for keeping the HBOS offices in the town and also talked of the 'anxieties' and 'anger' of staff working at the Blue Leanie.

Mr Lidington called on Lloyds' management to at least give a date when they expect to be able to give more detail on redundancies.

In his letter he says he has started to receive e-mails from HBOS staff in Aylesbury 'angry at reports that guarantees have been offered over jobs in Scotland but not to HBOS employees in England.'

Mr Lidington details the 'commercial advantages' for HBOS- the largest private sector employer in Aylesbury- remaining in the town.

These include more affordable office rents and house prices than in London and many other parts of the South East, good quality staff, and Aylesbury's proximity to London.

"I very much hope that you will retain Aylesbury as a major centre of your company's operations and possibly even look to expand your operations here," he tells Mr Daniels.

"The loss of more than a thousand jobs would be a massive blow to the local economy."

Mark Elliott, spokesman for HBOS, said: "With something of this magnitude it is very early days.

"There is an important centre in Aylesbury but what we are saying to colleagues is it is going to be at least three months until the deal (for Lloyds to acquire HBOS) is negotiated.

"Until then we are two separate competitors.

"When the deal is finalised we will start to be able to sit down and look at the detail."