The subject of the email should have been warning enough for Jes Staley, the embattled chief executive of Barclays. At quarter to nine on Wednesday evening, after a bruising shareholders’ meeting, Mr Staley received a message purporting to be from his chairman, John McFarlane. The heading read: “The fool doth think he is wise”.
In fact, the message was from a prankster, using the Gmail account john.mcfarlane.barclays@gmail.com. The imposter described Michael Mason-Mahon, an individual shareholder who called for Mr Staley to resign at Wednesday’s annual meeting, “as brusque as he is ill informed” and went on to reassure the Barclays chief executive that together they had successfully seen off any attempt to force Mr Staley out.
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