Barclays: Qataris spoke to Gordon Brown to ‘defuse 2008 bailout pressure’

Barclays: Qataris spoke to Gordon Brown to ‘defuse 2008 bailout pressure’

A Qatari leader spoke to then prime minister Gordon Brown during the 2008 financial crisis as Barclays bank came under increasing pressure to accept government money, a former bank boss has told a high court judge.

Former Barclays chief executive John Varley told Mr Justice Waksman how Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad spoke to Brown in October 2008 to "defuse“ that pressure.

Varley said Sheikh Hamad "sought reassurance“ from Brown that Qatar's interest in Barclays would not be "forcibly diluted“ by mandatory government investment.

He said he did not want Barclays to go into government ownership and told the judge about a "bleak“ meeting with then-chancellor Alistair Darling.

Varley was giving evidence at a high court trial in London on Thursday after Barclays became embroiled in a £1.6bn battle with a businesswoman.

Amanda Staveley has made complaints about the behaviour of Barclays bosses when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 financial crisis.

She says Barclays agreed to provide an unsecured £2bn loan to Qatari investors.

But she says that loan was "concealed“ from the market, shareholders and from PCP Capital Partners, a private equity firm she runs.

PCP is suing the bank and wants £1.6bn in damages.

Staveley, who in recent months has been involved in brokering a deal