Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as political unrest in Egypt continued to inject uncertainty into the market.

Protests in Egypt have been ongoing for a week, with clashes between protestors and government forces claiming over a hundred lives so far.

Although the protestors appear to be united in their opposition to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, there is almost no indication as to what would replace Mr Mubarak, should the protestors succeed in ending his rule of nearly 30 years.

There are concerns that one of the potential successors to Mr Mubarak could be an Iranian style Islamist regime, that would serve to heighten tensions on the Egyptian-Israeli border and in the region of Gaza.

By 10:35 shares in RBS were down 2.06 per cent to 41.82 pence per share, Barclays shares declined 1.41 per cent to 294.00 pence per share and HSBC shares fell 0.17 per cent to 683.60 pence per share.

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group however were up 0.16 per cent to 62.00 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was down 0.30 per cent to 5,863.51.

Barclays HSBC FTSE Egypt