Mark Carney caught by prankster who embarrassed Barclays

Bank of England governor jokes about
predecessor Eddie George – but refuses to join in sexist
comments

One-Minute Read

In an email exchange posted on Twitter, the Bank of England
governor appeared to be duped by messages from a Hotmail account
purported to belong to Anthony Habgood, who chairs the bank’s
court, its equivalent of a board of directors.

The messages saw Carney “tentatively” accept an invitation to a
summer drinks reception, says The Guardian, and share a joke about the
supposed drinking habits of one of his predecessors after the
prankster refers to the image of Jane Austin on the new £10 note,
writing that her “face resembles that of someone who’s had a
‘bracing Martini'”.

Carney replied: “I will drink the Martini and order
another two. Apparently that was Eddie George’s daily
intake… before lunch.”

It is thought this could be a reference to comments made by
former shadow chancellor Ed Balls this weekend. He told The Observer that during lunches, George
“would start with a martini, never eat vegetables and incredibly
good clarets would appear from the vaults”.

The hoaxer also tried to draw Carney into making sexist
comments , saying they had hired “rather dashing bar ladies” for
the drinks reception.

“If you ask for the crystal glasses you’ll be able to
admire their enchanting dexterity. I keep those glasses low down,
ha! You don’t reach my age without knowing all the tricks,” he
added.

However, Carney refused to bite and simply wrote: “Sorry
Anthony. Not appropriate at all.” He did not respond to two further
emails.

Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney.
Apparently is not up for the type of party I like to throw. pic.twitter.com/6Iam49A5rA

— EMAIL PRANKSTER. (@SINON_REBORN) May 23, 2017

“Despite the governor’s good manners the incident raises
questions about email security and the ease with which one person
has been able to trick two of the most important people in the
City,” says the Financial Times.

Staley was caught out by emails apparently from his
chairman John McFarlane, which were sent the evening after he
received a grilling over his breach of whistleblowing rules at the
bank’s AGM.

At no point did Staley seem to realise he has been pranked,
continuing to heap praise on his chairman even after receiving an
acrostic poem that spelled out the word “whistleblower”, says the
FT.