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Barclays bankers called Amanda Staveley 'the tart', court hears

Amanda Staveley  - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Amanda Staveley - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Top Barclays bankers dismissed financier Amanda Staveley as a lightweight "dolly-bird" and called her "the tart" during a crucial 2008 fundraising, the High Court has heard.

Former investment banking chief Roger Jenkins repeatedly referred to Ms Staveley as "the tart" while discussing a crucial cash injection into the bank with his colleague Richard Boath at the height of the financial crisis.

On the same call the pair also both referred to her as "that dolly-bird" when trying to remember her name, according to a transcript.

Mr Jenkins - once thought to be the best paid banker in Britain after allegedly being paid £40m between 2005 and 2009 - said: "I can handle dolly-birds".

Ms Staveley's client, Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, became the bank's largest shareholder after contributing £3.5bn to the rescue deal. She is suing Barclays for £1.6bn over claims that Sheikh Mansour and her firm PCP Capital Partners were unfairly treated.

The financier's barrister Joe Smouha QC said earlier in the trial that her case would lay bare the "pre-global financial crisis arrogance" of the banking industry, where the focus was on bonuses, money and "unfortunately also sexism and misogyny".

Stephen Jones, another senior Barclays banker involved in the fundraising, has already quit his role as head of lobby group UK Finance after court documents accused him of making "thoroughly unpleasant personal comments" about Ms Staveley at the time.

Ex-Barclays executive Roger Jenkins was once thought to be the best paid banker in Britain. - HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS
Ex-Barclays executive Roger Jenkins was once thought to be the best paid banker in Britain. - HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS

Former Barclays boss John Varley last week said Ms Staveley's firm was greatly overstating its role in the rescue 12 years ago, which kept Barclays out of taxpayer hands as rivals Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland were forced to beg for massive bailouts.

Giving evidence to the High Court, Mr Varley said that PCP was a "little-known party with unknown financial resources and no track record as an investor in the public markets".

Mr Jenkins also dismissed Ms Staveley's credentials on Thursday, saying in his witness statement that he would have remembered if she had asked to join the bank as a director.

She would not have been considered qualified to sit on the Barclays board as it "was made up of very highly qualified, experienced and impressive individuals", he said.

The banker, who once dated model Elle MacPherson, added that when he asked Ms Staveley for direct access to Sheikh Mansour she always said he was too busy or out hunting.

The banker said: "Ms Staveley did not at any point challenge my understanding that Sheikh Mansour was the investor, or express any surprise that I would want to speak to him directly. Ms Staveley never said to me that she was actually the investor subscribing to the deal, or that I only needed to speak to her because she was the principal," he said.

The case continues.

Ms Staveley is separately overseeing a takeover of Newcastle United Football Club.