UK Finance chief Stephen Jones has resigned ahead of a court case which is expected to reveal allegedly sexist comments he made about financier Amanda Staveley while he was a senior executive at Barclays, The Guardian reports.

Last week Staveley launched a £1.5bn high court claim against Barclays.

Her client, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, invested £3.25bn in the bank when it sought emergency funding to save it from a government bail-out 12 years ago.

Staveley accuses the bank of offering superior terms to the state of Qatar.

It is not yet clear exactly what Jones said about Staveley, but details are expected to be made public as part of the court proceedings.

Staveley’s company, PCP Capital Partners, has stated in its evidence that senior Barclays staff made  “deeply unpleasant personal comments” about her.

Jones has been chief executive of the UK Finance since it was formed through the amalgamation of several other trade bodies in 2017.

Jones says: “I have apologised to Ms Staveley and to my colleagues for the comments made in 2008 and feel at this time it is right I step down from my role at UK Finance. 

“I am very proud of what we have achieved since the formation of UK Finance in 2017.  

“Our current work with the banking and finance industry, government, business and consumer groups and regulators to coordinate the provision of financial support during the Covid-19 crisis shows UK Finance at its best. 

“I am confident UK Finance will continue to be an effective advocate and agent for the banking and finance industry and would like to thank all my colleagues and the board for their commitment to build an effective and appropriate voice.”

UK Finance chairman Bob Wigley says: “Stephen has rightly acknowledged that the comments he made in 2008 were inappropriate and do not meet the standards expected of leaders in our industry. 

“He has characteristically taken a difficult personal decision in the interest of UK Finance and the industry and we accept his decision.

“I and the board of UK Finance want to thank Stephen for all of his vision and hard work in building UK Finance over the last three years. 

“His commitment and passion to raise standards across the industry and ensure our work was always focussed on meeting the needs of consumers and businesses has never been more apparent than in the way UK Finance and our members have responded to the challenges of recent months.”