ALISTAIR DARLING INTERVIEW: Britain was two hours away from total social collapse - Former Chancellor on the crisis that erupted FIVE years ago this week

``...I said to [the chairman of RBS], "We're almost ready to go. How long can you last?" I thought he might say maybe a couple of days, and what really shook me was that he said, "Well maybe two or three hours and that's it." ‘What was in my mind at that point is that if people thought the biggest bank in the world had failed, there would not be a bank in the western world that would be safe. ''