Barclays chief nicknamed himself ‘pooper scooper’ to exec

A former Barclays boss nicknamed himself ‘pooper scooper’ to a more senior manager known as ‘big dog’, a High Court judge has heard.

Stephen Jones discussed his hierarchical relationship with Roger Jenkins, then the bank’s executive chairman of Middle East business, in a 2008 phone call with a colleague, Mr Justice Waksman was told.

Mr Jones, who worked in Barclays’ investment banking division, tells his colleague that he had become Mr Jenkins’ ‘personal flunky’ in previous weeks.

He said he bit Mr Jenkins’ ‘bum, occasionally’.

The call was played on Friday at a High Court trial in London, where the judge is overseeing a £1.6 billion fight involving a businesswoman and Barclays.

A High Court Judge has heard how former Head of Investor Relations at Barclays PLC, Stephen Jones (pictured arriving at the High Court in London, July 24, 2020) nicknamed himself the ‘pooper scooper’ to a more senior manager known as ‘big dog’

Amanda Staveley – who once dated Prince Andrew – has made complaints about the behaviour of Barclays bosses when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 financial crisis. 

The 47-year-old claims the bank owes her up to £1.6billion after edging her out of a major deal in 2008, saying that her firm PCP Capital was given unfair terms for work done in relation to the to the Middle-East finance deals in 2008.

She claims she got a worse deal that the investors involved for her work.  

Ms Staveley says PCP introduced Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour to Barclays and he ‘subscribed’ to invest £3.25 billion. 

She says Barclays agreed to provide an unsecured £2 billion loan to Qatari investors, but the loan was ‘concealed’ from the market, shareholders and PCP Capital Partners.

PCP is suing the bank and wants £1.6 billion in damages, while Barclays disputes the claim and says it should be dismissed. 

The details of the phone call in which Jones gave himself the nickname came out in a court case in which Amanda Staveley, CEO of PCP Capital Partners LLP (pictured above leaving the High Court on July 23) is claiming Barclays owes her firm up to £1.6billion after edging her out of a deal in 2008, and has made complaints about the behavior of senior Barclays bankers

The details of the phone call in which Jones gave himself the nickname came out in a court case in which Amanda Staveley, CEO of PCP Capital Partners LLP (pictured above leaving the High Court on July 23) is claiming Barclays owes her firm up to £1.6billion after edging her out of a deal in 2008, and has made complaints about the behavior of senior Barclays bankers

During the call, Mr Jones’ colleague says he has heard that Mr Jones had acquired a new nickname, ‘Roger’s little dog’.

‘No, no, pooper scooper, actually,’ replies Mr Jones. ‘Roger is big dog and I am pooper scooper.’

Mr Jones says: ‘Maybe I am his little dog, maybe I am his chihuahua that goes under his arm.’

He adds: ‘… I don’t think he eats me for breakfast. I bite his bum occasionally.’

The judge has heard that Mr Jenkins earned nearly £40 million a year, and left Barclays in 2009 with an ‘exit package’ worth more than £50 million.

He has been told how Mr Jones once described Mr Jenkins as ‘a deeply unpleasant man and very, very nasty to work for’.

Mr Jones had said Mr Jenkins worked for ‘Roger Jenkins Plc’ not ‘Barclays Plc’.

Ms Staveley has made complaints about the behaviour of Barclays (pictured: The bank's building at Canary Wharf in London) bosses when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 financial crisis as part of the High Court battle.

Ms Staveley has made complaints about the behaviour of Barclays (pictured: The bank’s building at Canary Wharf in London) bosses when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 financial crisis as part of the High Court battle.

The details of the conversation come the day after the court heard yesterday how Stephen Jones called Ms Staveley ‘thick as s***’ during another phone call with another then-bank boss in October 2008.

During the trial in London yesterday, a transcript of the 2008 call in which Mr Jones criticised Ms Staveley was made available to journalists when he began giving evidence on Thursday.

The transcript showed that Mr Jones had said: ‘She’s thick as s*** as well. Anyway, there you go. You can’t have everything.’

His then colleague, Stephen Morse, who was Barclay’s head of compliance at the time, had replied: ‘Well, you know she dated Prince Andrew…’

Mr Jones had said: ‘Yeah, that’s it. That’s the one. She’s got large breasts, so, you know, sorry…’

At the time of the call, the pair were discussing Barclay’s £7billion deal with Abu Dhabi which saved the bank from seeking a humiliating government bailout during the 2008 financial crisis.

Judge Mr Justice Waksman was told by a lawyer, who has been given instructions by Ms Staveley, that the financier had accepted an apology made privately by Mr Jones.

Earlier in the trial, Roger Jenkins (pictured earlier in July) another former Barclays boss, who had referred to Miss Staveley as 'the tart' in a phone call, had apologised

Earlier in the trial, Roger Jenkins (pictured earlier in July) another former Barclays boss, who had referred to Miss Staveley as ‘the tart’ in a phone call, had apologised

Mr Jones resigned as head of lobby group UK Finance last month after the High Court case heard of the ‘deeply unpleasant personal comments’ by him about Miss Staveley.

He apologised for the remarks, saying they ‘do not meet the standards of language and behaviour we rightly expect’.  

Ms Staveley, who in recent months has been involved in brokering a deal which could see a Saudi consortium take control of Newcastle United FC, has made complaints about the behaviour of Barclays bosses when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 financial crisis as part of the High Court battle. 

Earlier in the trial Roger Jenkins, who had referred to Miss Staveley as ‘the tart’ in a phone call, and later apologised.

Mr Jenkins, and another former Barclays boss, Richard Boath, had discussed Ms Staveley during a telephone call in October 2008, a judge has been told.

Mr Jenkins referred to Ms Staveley as ‘the tart’ and Mr Boath referred to her as ‘that dolly bird’.

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