Barclays in £6.5bn cash call to investors

Barclays said today that it will not turn to the Government for emergency funding as the bank unveiled plans to raise more than £6.5 billion from investors to help shore up its balance sheet.

The high street bank also said it will not pay a final dividend for 2008, saving the group £2 billion.

The announcement comes in the wake of the Government's £500 billion scheme to stabilise the UK's banking sector. The plan could see multi-billion-pound injections into rivals Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland.