Barclays, which has a base in Poole, above, plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs, including 7,000 in the UK.

The bank said it had already told around half the staff affected.

The news came as the bank revealed a 10 per cent rise in its bonus pool despite a 32 per cent drop in underlying annual profits.

It said its investment banking staff would share £1.6bn in bonuses, up 13 per cent on 2012.