A top city lawyer has been caught on Zoom saying that the financier Amanda Staveley is ‘obviously lying’ in her High Court battle with Barclays over a £7million deal.
The unnamed lawyer’s comments were accidentally aired after Ms Staveley’s first day in court for cross-examination. The trial over her lawsuit against Barclays is being livestreamed.
The incident – which is embarrassing for Simmons & Simmons who are acting for Barclays – highlights the problems of broadcasting legal proceedings online.
Bloomberg reported that the lawyer had said Ms Staveley, 47, was ‘obviously lying’ when she was giving evidence.
Amanda Staveley seen arriving at the Rolls Building in London to give evidence in her High Court battle with Barclays
Ms Staveley says her private equity firm, PCP Capital Partners, was not treated fairly and is owed money for work it did setting up a Middle East investment deal with Barclays during the global financial crisis in 2008.
Barclays bosses also labelled her a ‘foxy blonde’ and ‘the tart’, leading her to accuse executives at the bank of sexism and misogyny.
The case has revealed also shone light on the extravagant lifestyles of the super-rich bankers at the heart of the financial crisis.
Mr Justice Waksman described the remarks as ‘unpleasant’ and read a letter to the court from Colin Passmore, the law firm’s senior partner, who apologised for the comments.
Mr Passmore said it was ‘made in a private Zoom meeting that was some-how broadcast into the courtroom and the live feed’.
Mr Justice Waksman said that he was grateful to the members of the public who brought the matter to the attention of his clerk.
In the case Ms Staveley has claimed Barclays unfairly pushed her firm PCP Capital out of the lucrative deal by offering secret fees to other investors
The judge told Ms Staveley that ‘what has happened has absolutely no impact on the task of my assessment of your evidence’.
‘Comments were made by a member of the Simmons legal team on a private Zoom call, which was overheard in the courtroom after the day’s session had adjourned,’ said a spokesman for Simmons & Simmons on Friday.
‘This should not have happened and is very regrettable.’
He added: ‘We apologise to Ms Staveley and to the court.’
It comes after Ms Staveley accused the Barclays boss known as ‘Big Dog’ of using his friendship with George Clooney and Matt Damon as part of a campaign to squeeze her out of the £7billion deal.
Ms Staveley said Roger Jenkins, once Britain’s best-paid banker, tried on numerous occasions to bypass her as a middle man – and befriend a key middle eastern investor himself, according to court documents.
If successful the manoeuvre would have been ‘a major coup’ opening up Abu Dhabi’s enormous wealth to the bank, it was claimed.
Barclays bank boss Roger Jenkins, who worked opposite Ms Staveley during 2008, told colleagues that his Bosnian ex-wife Diana Jenkins had not been given enough credit
The feud emerged after Miss Staveley accused Jenkins of lying as part of a £1.6billion deceit case in London‘s High Court.
Mr Jenkins’s now ex-wife Diana, 47, a Bosnian refugee turned socialite, was a regular on London’s A-list party scene, and court documents show her husband sought to use her famous friends to develop his business connections.
In October 2008, he invited Ms Staveley and her investor, Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour, to a party at his Mayfair flat.
The event was in aid of a charity helping with the relief effort in Darfur, in Sudan, called ‘Not on Our Watch’.
According to press reports from the time, it was also attended by Scarlett Johansson, Cindy Crawford, Sarah Ferguson, Bono, Guy Ritchie, Sir Michael Caine, Claudia Schiffer and Christian Slater – and raised £10million for charity.
But Miss Staveley took the invite as an attempt to bypass her as a middle man in the deal, which could affect how much she was paid in the future, according to a witness statement filed to the court.
In the document she said: ‘Mr Jenkins wanted me to ask Sheikh Mansour if he could attend, as George Clooney and Matt Damon would be present representing their charity.
‘I had heard that Mr Jenkins’ wife, Dianna, was very glamorous and that they were both fond of the ‘celebrity’ lifestyle.
Friends in high places: Amanda Staveley is pictured with David Beckham at a plush event
‘I felt he was quite clearly trying to get a direct line to my cornerstone investor.’ She said that Mr Jenkins subsequently tried ‘a number of times’ to meet the Sheikh.
The statement from Miss Staveley added: ‘It would have been a major coup for Mr Jenkins to get an introduction to someone as important and influential as Sheikh Mansour, given the bank’s ambitions in the Gulf region.’
The revelations come a day after court documents revealed that Mr Jenkins was furious his wife did not get the attention she deserved for her role in the deal to save the bank.
He complained to colleagues that his wife Diana, 47, was treated like a ‘party girl’, while fellow financier Amanda Staveley, also 47, was lauded for her business nous.
The court dispute results from Miss Staveley’s claim that she was not given the same terms as the Qatari investors.
According to her, Barclays told her numerous times that PCP and the Abu Dhabi investors would be offered the same fees as other investors.
Barclays disputes PCP’s allegation and described its damages claim as ‘opportunistic and speculative’ (pictured, Barclays tower in Canary Wharf, London)
Instead the bank misled the financial markets and funnelled an extra £346million in secret fees to the Qataris, according to court documents.
Barclays disputes her claim, calling it ‘opportunistic and speculative’.
Jeffery Onions QC, for the bank, told the court: ‘The facts have been distorted or exaggerated to fit the case.’
Mr Jenkins, who has been acquitted in the criminal courts of wrongdoing related to the fundraising, has been called to give evidence as a witness.
The case, expected to last nine weeks, continues.