Barclays bank is helping to bankroll President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, providing millions of pounds of support for his vilified land reforms, The Observer can reveal. Mugabe's opponents describe the bank's activities as a 'disgrace' and an 'insult' to the millions who have suffered human rights abuses...Barclays is the most high-profile of three British-based financial institutions, which, in total, have provided more than $1bn in direct and indirect funding to Mugabe's administration. The other two companies are Standard Chartered Bank and the insurance firm Old Mutual...Barclays says it has had customers in Zimbabwe for decades and abandoning them now would make matters worse. A spokesman said: 'We have been in Zimbabwe since 1912 and have 1,000 employees serving 150,000 retail, business and corporate customers in the country. We are committed to continuing to provide a service to those customers in what is clearly a difficult operating environment. As with all other banks and businesses, Barclays is required to comply with the regulations of the Reserve Bank. This involves participating from time to time in the purchase of treasury bills and government bonds.'...Nobody from Old Mutual was available for comment. A spokesman for Standard Chartered Bank confirmed his institution had lent Mugabe money through purchase of government bonds. He said: 'This is part of doing business in Zimbabwe.'