Lloyds Banking Group is slated to slash another 200 insurance jobs in the UK, taking the losses to more than 26,000 since its disastrous merger with HBoS.

According to media reports, job losses are expected in three divisions: group operations, general insurance and wholesale.

The latest cuts will hit staff in Chester, Leicester, Edinburgh, Newport, Copley, West Yorkshire and Shannon in Ireland, where 80 of the 200 jobs are being lost.

David Fleming, national officer of the Unite union, urged Lloyds’ new boss Antonio Horta-Osorio to reverse the decision.

"Unite is calling on the new boss to step in and stop these 200 jobs being cut. It is inexcusable that while Horta-Osorio is one of the best-paid executives in Britain with a pay package of £8.3m a year, staff earning an average salary of less then £20,000 are joining the dole queues," Fleming said.

Four months ago, Lloyds announced it was cutting 4,500 jobs.