Speaking at a meeting with Treasury Select Committee the Barclays chief admitted that he would not borrow on credit cards because they are ‘too expensive’.

Complaints have been arriving to branches and call centres across the country since the beginning of the day.

A statement released by the bank stresses that Mr Barrett had been speaking ‘in the context of a debate about people facing long-term problems with debt, for whom credit cards are not the answer.’

Barclays was one of five banking institutions criticised by the Committee as having poor credit services.

The bank is the UK’s biggest card issuer with an interest rate of 17.9 per cent on its credit card.