A multibillion-pound bill linked to litigation and US tax changes, coupled with heavy losses from the sell down of its Africa business, dragged Barclays into the red last year.

In its fourth-quarter and full-year results, the UK banking group reported an attributable loss of £1.9bn for 2017, compared with a profit of £1.6bn in 2016. Total revenues of more than £21bn were broadly flat year-on-year, though there were heavy falls at the bank's key trading division.