John Varley, the former chief executive of Barclays, became the first global bank chief executive to face criminal charges as he appeared in the dock in a London court on Monday.

Mr Varley, who was chief executive at the time of the financial crisis and three ex-colleagues including Roger Jenkins, the former head of the bank’s middle east operations, all stood in the glass panelled dock at Westminster magistrates court to face allegations relating to Barclays capital raising at the height of the crisis in 2008 which enabled the bank to avoid a UK government bail out.

Mr Varley, dressed in a grey suit and black and white polka dot tie and carrying a notepad, stood alongside his former colleagues and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address.