SHAMED former Royal bank of Scotland Cheif Executive Fred Good win has been ordered to hand over emails he sent ahead of the bank's 2008 rights issue.

Mr Goodwin, who was widely blamed for bringing the bank to the brink of disaster and sparking the chain of events that led to it being bailed out by the taxpayer, is among a number of former directors who will have to hand over the details of private email accounts as part of a £4bn court case brought about by shareholders.

The RBS Action Group is suing the bank and its directors, claiming they were misled at the time of the sale.

It represent around 12,000 shareholders who claim the bank did not disclose the full extent of its finances at the time of the sale. They claim that the bank's directors breached the Financial Services and Markets Act, which makes them liable for withheld information.

One said that the emails could contain of "treasure trove" of information relevant to the case and could shed light on what was going on behind the scenes at the time.

The emails were ordered to be revealed following a hearing at the High Court in London, where Mr Justice Hillyard agreed with he group's request for more information.

Robert Thompson, a member of the group, said: "It is clear that these private email accounts will provide a treasure trove of evidence that will help our group reveal the truth about this rights issue."