'Pied piper' broker Tony Verrier banned from City for life

The "pied piper" broking chief who lured 10 of his colleagues away from the broker Tullett Prebon to a rival, BGC partners, has been banned from working in the City ever again.

Tony Verrier, the Financial Services Authority said, was "not a fit and proper person due to concerns over his honesty, integrity and reputation". Mr Verrier is appealing the case to the Upper Tribunal.

Tullett won its case against BGC for poaching in 2010 when the judge said: "I found that in evidence Mr Verrier stuck to the truth where he was able to but departed from it with equanimity and adroitness where the truth was inconvenient."

Mr Verrier was found in court to have "lost or disposed" of eight BlackBerry phones in 12 months, which were believed to have been used in recruiting his former colleagues.

The judge also concluded that he had destroyed vital emails and tried to hide evidence of clandestine dinners with the people he was trying to poach.

The Court of Appeal stated last year: "Mr Verrier was found [by the High Court] to have participated in an unlawful means conspiracy, the unlawful means including the inducement of the broker defendants to breach their contracts of employment with Tullett by leaving early without lawful justification."