By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 12:15 EST, 25 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:19 EST, 26 April 2013 . Complaints: Joan Woolard, 75, who had travelled from Lincolnshire, earned applause from the audience as she slammed the bank's pay policies . It had to be said and yesterday a widow from a small market town was the one to say it. Venting the fury of a nation, Joan Woolard accused the millionaire bosses of Barclays of being ‘greedy bastards’. The 75-year-old had travelled all the way from Spalding in rural Lincolnshire to the bank’s annual meeting in London to condemn the City’s bonus culture. Mrs Woolard lambasted Barclays directors for dishing out seven-figure pay packages and demanded to know why no bankers had been jailed. Mocking the new Barclays motto – ‘the go-to bank’ – she added: ‘Go-to? Go to hell Barclays! A lot of people regard Barclays and its board as a bunch of crooks. ‘My income is £726 a month. I live quite well on that – I don’t understand why anyone needs a million, even to live in London. ‘Anyone who asks for more than that is a greedy bastard – pardon my French. ‘Banks have brought us down – brought the entire global economy down. Yet none of you have gone to jail. ‘I don’t understand how you can sleep at night.’ The emotional speech was greeted by applause from her fellow shareholders in the audience at the Royal Festival Hall. Many were pensioners whose incomes have been decimated since the 2008 financial crash. Venting the fury of a nation, Joan Woolard accused the millionaire bosses of Barclays of being 'greedy bastards' In charge: Antony Jenkins (left) CEO of Barclays Bank and Sir David Walker (right), chairman of the bank, pose for photographers in central London today prior to the bank's annual general meeting . Another pensioner, who described . himself as a customer and a shareholder for many years, told the . meeting: ‘We have suffered. Ordinary staff have suffered. But many who . have received big bonuses haven’t suffered.’ And Jennifer Cramer, a small investor, said talk of pay restraint at previous annual meetings had been a sham. John Mann, a Labour MP who sits on . the Treasury Select Committee, said: ‘Mrs Woolard speaks for England. The public is at a loss as to why bankers have got away with it. The . fact that they also continue to award huge bonuses shows they have not . learned their lessons.’ Sir David Walker, who took over last year as chairman to help restore the bank’s sullied reputation, responded to Mrs Woolard. Unhappy: Protesters demonstrate in a bath tub outside the Barclays AGM at the Royal Festival Hall in London . He said: ‘It’s important to – with . humility and modesty – recognise the extent to which those comments were . recognised and approved of by others in the audience. I readily agree . that Barclays overpaid in the past – it’s not going there again.’ Chief executive Antony Jenkins . yesterday admitted the bank had ‘let our customers and clients, our . shareholders, our colleagues and the wider public down’. Despite claims it is showing wage restraint, Barclays has infuriated investors by paying 428 staff more than £1million. Last month it came under fire for . trying to bury details of a £40million jackpot shared between nine . directors by announcing it on Budget day. This included a £17.6million shares . jackpot for the flamboyant Rich Ricci, who has become the focus of . criticism of fat cat pay at Barclays since the departure of chief . executive Bob Diamond. The payouts extended to a £5.3million shares windfall from bonuses awarded in previous years to Mr Jenkins. Yesterday’s drama comes a year after . the so-called ‘Shareholder Spring’ of 2012 which saw a wave of investor . protests against lavish boardroom pay. Some leading executives were . forced to quit their lucrative roles in the wake of the revolts. Among . them was David Brennan, then chief executive of drugs giant AstraZeneca. Astra was also criticised yesterday for awarding Mr Brennan’s successor, Pascal Soriot, a ‘golden hello’. 'Filthy rich': Demostrators were campaigning for more bank regulation and higher taxes on bank profits . Six per cent of shareholders refused to back a deal to hand him £6.5million in his first three months. Eight companies saw investors . register significant protest votes over pay yesterday, including . house-builder Taylor Wimpey, cigarette giant British American Tobacco . and Hovis-maker Premier Foods. It is not the first time Mrs Woolard has travelled to London to confront Barclays. Last year she branded the bank . ‘heartless and inhumane’ after she was unable to use her joint credit . card to pay for flowers for her husband’s funeral when it was cancelled . by the lender without warning following his death. Her complaints were dismissed by both Barclays and the Financial Ombudsman. This prompted her to buy £10 of shares to allow her to attend the bank’s annual meeting, at which she laid into Mr Diamond. Her protest forced Barclays to change . its policy to allow 30 days of grace for secondary card holders to use . an account following a death. Despite yesterday’s protests the bank . managed to avoid a repeat of last year when 32 per cent of shareholders . failed to back its pay awards.
Joan Woolard of Lincolnshire slammed pay policies at London meeting .
Said she 'doesn't know why anybody needs £1m to live, even in London'
Chairman Sir David Walker said board is 'sympathetic' to her concerns .
By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 12:15 EST, 25 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:19 EST, 26 April 2013 . Complaints: Joan Woolard, 75, who had travelled from Lincolnshire, earned applause from the audience as she slammed the bank's pay policies . It had to be said and yesterday a widow from a small market town was the one to say it. Venting the fury of a nation, Joan Woolard accused the millionaire bosses of Barclays of being ‘greedy bastards’. The 75-year-old had travelled all the way from Spalding in rural Lincolnshire to the bank’s annual meeting in London to condemn the City’s bonus culture. Mrs Woolard lambasted Barclays directors for dishing out seven-figure pay packages and demanded to know why no bankers had been jailed. Mocking the new Barclays motto – ‘the go-to bank’ – she added: ‘Go-to? Go to hell Barclays! A lot of people regard Barclays and its board as a bunch of crooks. ‘My income is £726 a month. I live quite well on that – I don’t understand why anyone needs a million, even to live in London. ‘Anyone who asks for more than that is a greedy bastard – pardon my French. ‘Banks have brought us down – brought the entire global economy down. Yet none of you have gone to jail. ‘I don’t understand how you can sleep at night.’ The emotional speech was greeted by applause from her fellow shareholders in the audience at the Royal Festival Hall. Many were pensioners whose incomes have been decimated since the 2008 financial crash. Venting the fury of a nation, Joan Woolard accused the millionaire bosses of Barclays of being 'greedy bastards' In charge: Antony Jenkins (left) CEO of Barclays Bank and Sir David Walker (right), chairman of the bank, pose for photographers in central London today prior to the bank's annual general meeting . Another pensioner, who described . himself as a customer and a shareholder for many years, told the . meeting: ‘We have suffered. Ordinary staff have suffered. But many who . have received big bonuses haven’t suffered.’ And Jennifer Cramer, a small investor, said talk of pay restraint at previous annual meetings had been a sham. John Mann, a Labour MP who sits on . the Treasury Select Committee, said: ‘Mrs Woolard speaks for England. The public is at a loss as to why bankers have got away with it. The . fact that they also continue to award huge bonuses shows they have not . learned their lessons.’ Sir David Walker, who took over last year as chairman to help restore the bank’s sullied reputation, responded to Mrs Woolard. Unhappy: Protesters demonstrate in a bath tub outside the Barclays AGM at the Royal Festival Hall in London . He said: ‘It’s important to – with . humility and modesty – recognise the extent to which those comments were . recognised and approved of by others in the audience. I readily agree . that Barclays overpaid in the past – it’s not going there again.’ Chief executive Antony Jenkins . yesterday admitted the bank had ‘let our customers and clients, our . shareholders, our colleagues and the wider public down’. Despite claims it is showing wage restraint, Barclays has infuriated investors by paying 428 staff more than £1million. Last month it came under fire for . trying to bury details of a £40million jackpot shared between nine . directors by announcing it on Budget day. This included a £17.6million shares . jackpot for the flamboyant Rich Ricci, who has become the focus of . criticism of fat cat pay at Barclays since the departure of chief . executive Bob Diamond. The payouts extended to a £5.3million shares windfall from bonuses awarded in previous years to Mr Jenkins. Yesterday’s drama comes a year after . the so-called ‘Shareholder Spring’ of 2012 which saw a wave of investor . protests against lavish boardroom pay. Some leading executives were . forced to quit their lucrative roles in the wake of the revolts. Among . them was David Brennan, then chief executive of drugs giant AstraZeneca. Astra was also criticised yesterday for awarding Mr Brennan’s successor, Pascal Soriot, a ‘golden hello’. 'Filthy rich': Demostrators were campaigning for more bank regulation and higher taxes on bank profits . Six per cent of shareholders refused to back a deal to hand him £6.5million in his first three months. Eight companies saw investors . register significant protest votes over pay yesterday, including . house-builder Taylor Wimpey, cigarette giant British American Tobacco . and Hovis-maker Premier Foods. It is not the first time Mrs Woolard has travelled to London to confront Barclays. Last year she branded the bank . ‘heartless and inhumane’ after she was unable to use her joint credit . card to pay for flowers for her husband’s funeral when it was cancelled . by the lender without warning following his death. Her complaints were dismissed by both Barclays and the Financial Ombudsman. This prompted her to buy £10 of shares to allow her to attend the bank’s annual meeting, at which she laid into Mr Diamond. Her protest forced Barclays to change . its policy to allow 30 days of grace for secondary card holders to use . an account following a death. Despite yesterday’s protests the bank . managed to avoid a repeat of last year when 32 per cent of shareholders . failed to back its pay awards.
the audience as she slammed the bank's pay it. Venting the fury of a nation, Joan Woolard Lincolnshire to the bank’s annual meeting in anyone needs a million, even to live in London. (left) CEO of Barclays Bank and Sir David Walker England. The public is at a loss as to why