Jes Staley sent an email to his daughter referring to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as “uncle Jeffrey”, a court heard on Wednesday, as the ex-Barclays boss attempts to challenge regulators’ allegations that he played down his ties to the late financier.

Jes Staley lobbied the world’s biggest bank to keep Jeffrey Epstein as a client even after the disgraced financier was handed a prison sentence for soliciting underage girls.

Jes Staley (pictured) was giving evidence at London's Upper Tribunal as he seeks to overturn a finance industry ban and £1.8m fine.