| Submit your comments on this article | ||
| Britain | ||
| Barclaycard chief quits over Muslims remark | ||
| 2008-01-01 | ||
| A leading bank executive has been forced to quit after making an insulting remark about Muslims. Marc Howells, who was one of Barclaycard's leading figures, left his £200,000-a-year job after making the quip during a staff meeting as he discussed quarterly figures. Colleagues were stunned when he said: "The results were like Muslims - some were good, some were Shi'ite." Offended members of staff complained to senior bosses about the "wholly inappropriate" comment.
A company source said: "No one could quite believe their ears when he came out with his Shi'ite joke. He had a very responsible job in a multinational company. What on earth was he thinking of? "There were a few embarrassed guffaws but everyone except him knew he was for the high jump the moment he said it. "Once word got round and a complaint was made he was toast." Another company insider added: "Part of the deal was that the circumstances of his departure must never be disclosed. But there was no chance of that once his Shi'ite joke started doing the rounds." A Barclaycard spokesman refused to comment about the departure, but said: "We do not tolerate discrimination." "We won't comment on any individual cases like this. "Everybody who works here gets guidance of what is right and what is wrong. "We have a robust approach to equality and diversity and do not tolerate discrimination. "But we have nothing to add on this particular case." Mr Howells refused to comment at his home yesterday. Ann Widdecombe, the Conservative MP, said she felt his treatment was harsh. "I believe that a rebuke would have been sufficient in this case," she added. Those who have made racist remarks have escaped with a reprimand in the past.
| ||
| Posted by:tipper |
| #14 and the winner is: #13 |
| Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 2008-01-01 17:31 |
| #13 Barclay parent co. has strong business ties with Dubai, UAE and other Muslim countries. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-01-01 17:17 |
| #12 When I was going to junior high in the berkely of Kansas our teacher made a big 5 minute talk about not laughing at the English connotation of shiite - big pc jumbo at the time. Ironically, that teacher would be fired if that talk was given today. Have to agree with #9 and #10; Disposable income and all in what is considered the next big untapped market. Leaked on purpose for sure. Could have been worse, "I sunni eat shiite than do business like that again." she said black men dominate athletics because they are accustomed to being pursued by lions. True that there is a time and place to fart and it isn't at the board table. Was it Chris Rock -or Mencia, someone- who said that black athletes win in the olympics because they love gold? The world is a tough place, getting ass hurt over stupid rhetoric makes it worse, not better. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-01-01 15:54 |
| #11 Might be a convienient excuse to bounce somebody they wanted out. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-01 13:00 |
| #10 The banking industry is very competitive, especially when it comes to petrodollar deposits and investments. Money talked and Howells walked. |
| Posted by: mrp 2008-01-01 11:23 |
| #9 I bet there are a few Muslims on their board of directors who call the shots for the bank. That's just a pun, so how did it get from a staff meeting to the international news? There was no threat of public exposure until they fired him. They are actively seeking Muslim shareholders and customers. |
| Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 2008-01-01 11:20 |
| #8 This wasn't even a joke about Muslims. It was a pun, for god's sake. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-01-01 11:09 |
| #7 Reminder to self. If I ever live in Barclaycard land... never get one. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-01-01 10:12 |
| #6 Glenmore makes an excellent point. I will reward companies that say "Back the f*ck off, it was a f*cking joke." Also companies that make jokes about muslims. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-01-01 10:08 |
| #5 They blew it. If they'd rewarded him instead of punishing him I'd have transferred my business to them, and I wouldn't be alone. There's a great business model here just waiting to be exploited. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-01-01 08:59 |
| #4 Has it really come to this in the mother country ? Just a bit too PC by half to survive, I'd think. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2907 2008-01-01 08:52 |
| #3 Those who have made racist remarks have escaped with a reprimand in the past. For the 9,000th time, Islam is not a race! Most recently the BBC Radio 2 DJ Sarah Kennedy was censured but escaped the sack for a comment on air about how she could not see black men in the dark. Either 1) she's a leftist and thus exempt from thought crimes or 2) it's apparently OK to insult blacks, but not Muslims. |
| Posted by: Raj 2008-01-01 08:32 |
| #2 All part of a dhummitude training. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-01-01 05:46 |
| #1 Makes 200k quid a year and has a 2 mil GBP home in St. John's Wood - better check is credit cards. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-01-01 05:29 |