The Serious Fraud Office has suffered defeat in a case against the former Barclays chief executive John Varley. This is a significant blow in its attempts to punish the leaders of large UK financial institutions for mismanagement during the 2008 financial crisis.

On June 21, Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Gross threw out charges against Varley for conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with two crisis-era fundraisings that Barclays secured from the Gulf state of Qatar in 2008.