Woman in Ketchup row

This is the secretary at the centre of the ketchup row which has caused chaos at one of the world's leading law firms.

Jenny Amner is the woman behind the series of emails which have wreaked havoc at City firm Baker & McKenzie and left her £150,000-a-year boss in a state of "absolute devastation".

Today she left her home in Bexleyheath, where she has been hiding since the story broke, but refused to make any comment about her actions.

Richard Phillips, the IT law expert who demanded ?4 from Ms Amner after she splattered his suit with ketchup at lunch, has resigned from his job as a senior associate at Baker & McKenzie and is planning to change careers. Ms Amner, in her late fifties, is also said to be considering her position with the firm.

It is thought both Ms Amner and Mr Phillips have been given indefinite leave from work until the email row subsides.

He reportedly sent the email the day after the ill-fated meal while she - unknown to him - was at her mother's funeral.

Sources close to the 36-year-old lawyer said he had made the decision to leave "long before" the publication of the notorious email. He is said to be devastated at his public humiliation.

His hurried message, tagged "ketchup trousers", read: "Hi Jenny, I went to a dry cleaners at lunch and they said it would cost £4 to remove ketchup stains. If you cd let me have the cash today, that wd be much appreciated."

An outraged Ms Amner sent a withering email to her boss pointing out that the sum was so small, and his position so senior, that he could surely afford it.

She copied their email exchange to all the staff in the commercial department at the firm, from where it winged its way across the City.

Ms Amner is also said to be shocked by the furore stirred up by her email.

She has found herself increasingly isolated by staff who feel Mr Phillips has been unfairly victimised. Since the story broke last week, the message boards of The Lawyer magazine and Roll On Friday, a website for City solicitors, have been inundated by emails backing Mr Phillips.

One such email states: "I thought the consensus was that this seccie had shown herself to be ... contemptible to a degree which made the lawyer's ill-judged tight-fisted pettiness seem trivial in comparison...It seemed to be the majority view on her." Baker & McKenzie has refused to comment on the resignation.

A company spokesman would only say: "We confirm that we are aware of the incident and subsequent email exchange.

"This is a private matter between two members of staff that clearly got out of hand.

We are investigating so as to resolve the issue amicably. We respect the privacy of our staff."