Lloyds Bank chief's lover faces calls to quit from university leaders after second overseas jaunt with bank boss is revealed 

  • Russell Group of Universities chief Wendy Piatt is now pressured to resign
  • Dr Piatt met Lloyd's boss Antonio Horta Osorio in Singapore for dates
  • Horta Osorio, who is married with children, has apologised to staff 
  • Now academics note her behaviour and 'reputational damage' to sector
  • One vice-chancellor noted that Singapore visit was on uni business

Academics are calling on the university chief at the centre of the cheating scandal surrounding the boss of Lloyd's Banking Group to step down from the role, it has been reported.

There are fears that the furore surrounding Dr Wendy Piatt, 45, and her relationship with bank chief Antonio Horta Osorio could damage the reputation of the UK higher education sector.

She is director-general of the Russell Group of Universities and was on academic business in Singapore when they met.

The calls come  a day after fresh allegations that Horta Osorio, 52, cheated on his wife on a second work trip, this time to San Francisco.  

Dr Wendy Piatt, the director general & chief executive of the Russell Group of Universities, is facing calls to step down from the role

Dr Wendy Piatt, the director general & chief executive of the Russell Group of Universities, is facing calls to step down from the role

Horta-Osorio with  Ana attending Ladies Day at Glorious Goodwood held at Goodwood Racecourse on August 2, 2012 in Chichester, England

Horta-Osorio with  Ana attending Ladies Day at Glorious Goodwood held at Goodwood Racecourse on August 2, 2012 in Chichester, England

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one leading vice-chancellor told The Sunday Times that there were 'serious questions' to be answered about the first trip on which they met in Singapore.

He said that this trip was 'apparently on Russell Group business'.

'Wendy must always have been aware of the danger of reputational damage to the Russell Group and I'm sure she'll want to take that into account as she decides what to do,' he told the Times.

The Russell Group represents 24 universities across the UK including the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics and Political Science and King's College London. 

Buckingham University professor Alan Smithers - whose university is independent - told the newspaper that while the private lives of individuals of their own business, it was 'disreputable behaviour' to go on trips on behalf of universities and then use them to meet a secret lover.

'It should lead to resignation to safeguard the reputation of our top universities.'

The San Francisco trip emerged only days after he expressed 'deep regret' to his 75,000 staff after being caught having an alleged affair on a business trip to Singapore.

The married father-of-three, 52, spent time in a hotel room with Dr Piatt while in Singapore for a conference in June this year.

Hand in hand: Mr Horta Osorio and wife Ana were seen publicly for the first time since the revelations at a funeral in Portugal last week

Hand in hand: Mr Horta Osorio and wife Ana were seen publicly for the first time since the revelations at a funeral in Portugal last week

But The Sun yesterday said it had learned about a second trip Mr Horta Osorio made seven months earlier, in November last year, when he is said to have hooked up with Dr Piatt.

On this occasion he was attending a banking conference and she was visiting university contacts in California.

But the revelations come at an extremely sensitive time for the bank. 

Lloyds boss Antonio Horta Osorio (pictured) is set to express 'deep regret' to his 75,000 staff on Wednesday after being caught having an alleged affair on a business trip
The Lloyds boss, a father of three, spent time in a hotel room with Dr Wendy Piatt, pictured, while in Singapore for a conference

Lloyds boss Antonio Horta Osorio (pictured left) has been accused of meeting Dr Wendy Piatt (right) in San Francisco last year, seven months before the infamous trip to Singapore 

Last month Mr Horta Osorio announced Lloyds was cutting 3,000 jobs and shutting 200 branches as part of an efficiency drive, but with the bank declaring profits had doubled in the first half of 2016 to £2.5billion, it was heavily criticised for blaming the job losses and closures on Brexit.

During the financial crisis, the government spent £20.5bn of taxpayers' money rescuing Lloyds, acquiring a 43 percent share in the bank. It has since sold most of those shares but taxpayers still own nine percent of Lloyds. 

In his memo to staff last week he apologised for the damage the 'adverse publicity' had done to the bank's reputation.

He has faced intense media coverage and questions about what was paid for on expenses after racking up a room bill of £3,276 during his stay in June, with £550 spent in the spa. 

Lloyds insisted no rules were broken and said the chief executive paid personal costs out of his own pocket.

In a statement to The Sun the company said of the San Francisco trip: 'All expenses for this business trip were appropriately claimed. We do not comment on personal issues.'          

THE GROVELLING APOLOGY LLOYDS BOSS SENT TO STAFF

Revelations: The news of the alleged affair came days after the bank announced it was axing 200 branches and 3,000 jobs

Revelations: The news of the alleged affair came days after the bank announced it was axing 200 branches and 3,000 jobs

In a memo to his 75,000 Lloyds staff, group chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio apologised for the damage done to the reputation of the bank over allegations of his affair.

He wrote: 'Having returned to work I wanted to use the opportunity to address the recent media coverage of my private life.

'As you may have read, my expenses were reviewed in light of speculation by certain newspapers and the Group has confirmed that they are fully compliant. As you'd expect, I pay for my personal expenses whilst away and only reclaim what is a business expense.

'My personal life is obviously a private matter as it is for anyone else. But I deeply regret being the cause of so much adverse publicity and the damage that has been done to the Group's reputation. It has detracted from the great work which you do for our customers on a daily basis and from the major accomplishments of the past five years.

'This includes the Government shareholding having reduced from over 40 per cent to around 9 per cent with over £16 billion plus dividends having been returned to taxpayers.

'More broadly I have been a strong advocate of expecting the highest professional standards from everyone at the bank, and that includes me.

'I will continue to strive to meet those standards. Having the highest professional standards raises the bar against which we are judged and as I have always said we must recognise that mistakes will be made. I don't expect anyone to get everything right all the time.

'The important point being how we learn from those mistakes and the decisions and actions we take afterward.'

Lloyds Bank chief's lover faces calls to quit from Russell Group of Universities

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