Nigel Farage brands review of his debanking by Coutts a whitewash and hits out at ‘serious failings’
NIGEL Farage has called a review of his debanking by Coutts a whitewash.
He hit out after law firm Travers Smith said there were “serious failings” in his treatment by owner NatWest.
But it said the bank’s decision to shut his account was lawful and taken for commercial reasons and not because of his political opinions.
Yesterday the ex-UKIP leader said the report “whitewashed the decision”.
He added: “Travers Smith has taken a very mealy-mouthed approach to this complex issue.
“It argues that my political views ‘not aligning with those of the bank’ was not in itself a political decision. This is laughable.”
The Brexiteer had obtained documents showing Coutts staff tearing into his political views.
The report also played down then-NatWest chief Dame Alison Rose’s leaking of Mr Farage’s personal information to the BBC.
The law firm said: “She honestly, but incorrectly, believed the client had publicly confirmed that he was a customer of Coutts.”
But it concluded the decision to close Mr Farage’s account was taken because “Coutts considered its relationship with Mr Farage to be commercially unviable”.
And it said his public statements on “issues such as the environment, race, gender and migration” were a reputational risk and did not align with the group’s “purpose”.
NatWest’s chairman Sir Howard Davies said: “This report sets out a number of serious failings in the treatment of Mr Farage.
“We apologise once again. His experience fell short of the standards any customer should expect.”