Barclays boss Jes Staley was ‘destroyed’ by Jeffrey Epstein probe

The chairman of Barclays told Andrew Bailey ‘you have destroyed him’ after a probe was launched into then chief executive Jes Staley over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a court heard yesterday.

Nigel Higgins made the remark when Bailey – now governor of the Bank of England – led the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2019, a London tribunal was told.

The FCA later fined Staley £1.8m after finding that he had ‘recklessly’ misled the watchdog by claiming that he and paedophile financier Epstein were ‘not close’.

Staley, who quit Barclays over the probe in 2021, is appealing the decision.

Bailey yesterday was in court asked to recall conversations with Higgins around the time the investigation was launched.

The case centres on a letter sent by Barclays to the FCA about the nature of Staley and Epstein’s relationship. 

The watchdog’s probe began after it received emails from Staley’s former employer JP Morgan that cast doubt on what the letter said.

Bailey explained: ‘We had received an answer that looked straightforward: that there had been no close relationship. 

‘Now it looked like that answer was ill-founded. This raised awkward questions for Barclays and in particular for Mr Higgins.’