A senior lawyer who was ridiculed for an email demanding that a secretary paid his £4 dry cleaning bill has resigned. 

Richard Philips, a top London lawyer with Baker & McKenzie, had accused his secretary Jenny Amner of spilling ketchup on his trousers and in an email demanded that she paid the dry cleaning bill. 

A spokeswoman for the law firm told the BBC that Philips has since resigned and will leave in September. His resignation came after the email exchange, but was not related to the incident, she said. Philips wanted to take "time to study ".

The email achieved notoriety across the world after Amner copied her colleagues in her reply. They then forwarded the message.

"With reference to the email below, I must apologise for not getting back to you straightaway but, due to my mother's sudden illness, death and funeral, I have had more pressing issues than your £4," Amner wrote to her boss.

"I apologise again for accidentally getting a few splashes of ketchup on your trousers. Obviously your financial need as a senior associate is greater than mine as a mere secretary."

Amner has since paid the dry cleaning bill. She is currently on paid leave and said to be considering her position at the firm, allegedly feeling isolated by colleagues after the incident.

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