ISS, the influential shareholder voting adviser, has joined its peer Glass Lewis in recommending Barclays shareholders vote to re-elect chief executive Jes Staley — a further blow to activist Sherborne Investors, which has repeatedly called for his removal.

Staley has been under pressure from Sherborne over his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The activist investor, which holds a 5.8% stake in Barclays and is led by Edward Bramson, said in a letter to investors on 16 April that a vote in favour of Staley’s reappointment “forces the shareholder to express support for a director who has shown tolerance for underage sex crimes”.