Barclays executives called Staveley thick as s----

SENIOR Barclays executives called financier Amanda Staveley “thick as s---” and joked about the size of her breasts and her dating history with Prince Andrew as they sought to secure a crucial rescue deal.

Investment banker Stephen Jones made the comments in a 2008 phone call to Stephen Morse, who was then head of compliance at the bank, the high court heard.

Mr Jones went on to become Britain’s top banking lobbyist as boss of trade group UK Finance, but quit the job last month after The Daily Telegraph reported that his comments were likely to come out in court.

In the 2008 call, he said: “She’s thick as s---. Anyway, there you go. You can’t have everything.”

“Well, you know she dated Prince Andrew,” Mr Morse replied.

“She’s got large breasts,” Mr Jones added.

Mr Jones told the High Court he “probably had forgotten” that his phone calls inside the bank were recorded and did not realise they might be transcribed and produced in a trial.

Addressing the court, he said: “Had I realised that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have said the things I said.”

Ms Staveley, who was involved with Prince Andrew in 2003, is suing Barclays for £1.6billion over claims that her firm PCP was treated unfairly during the 2008 rescue of Barclays, when it represented Abu Dhabi investors whose money helped the bank to avoid a taxpayer bail-out.

The High Court heard yesterday that Mr Jones and other Barclays employees were engaged in “urgent” negotiations to raise money and avoid the nationalisation of Barclays.

Mr Jones said: “Banks were failing day in day out. We were doing everything that we could to assist the group to raise the capital it needed to survive and avoid nationalisation.” The court was told that a key dinner meeting held in Doha, Qatar between Barclays executives and the country’s then prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-thani, took place metres away from another meeting between Qatari politicians and Credit Suisse.

Key Barclays employees, including Mr Jones, worked throughout the night of Oct 30 2008 in the London offices of law firm Clifford Chance in a last-ditch effort to strike a deal with the royal families of Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the High Court was told.

The bank announced the next morning that it had reached a £7.3billion agreement to stay afloat.

Mr Jones said he had for years been worried that continued scrutiny of the negotiations to save Barclays in 2008 could hurt his career.

He said: “I have not worried that we have committed an illegal act but I have worried about the 12 years of litigation about this transaction. I worried it would damage my future prospects, which it has.”

Mr Jones resigned as chief executive of UK Finance last month. He had previously championed efforts to improve City gender equality, backing the Women in Finance Charter which seeks to secure more senior roles for female bankers.

Joe Smouha QC, representing Ms Staveley, began his cross examination of Mr Jones by saying: “I have been specifically instructed by Ms Staveley to tell you that she acknowledges and accepts the apologies that you have communicated to her privately.”

A spokesman for Mr Jones said yesterday that he regretted making the comments. He said: “Stephen has been very clear his comments were wholly inappropriate... He was very grateful and touched that Amanda Staveley has accepted his apology.” The trial continues.