Barclays, seeking to mend its tattered reputation in the wake of the Libor-fixing scandal, has turned to a former spin doctor to Tony Blair and public relations advisor to the government of Kazakhstan.

Tim Allan, who set up his own PR firm eleven years ago, enters in the midst of what many see as a PR disaster. The Independent reported this morning that Allan had been hired on a "corporate reputation" brief and is now advising Barclays on how to handle the fallout from Liborgate. The bank was fined a record $450m earlier this week.