Natwest: Nigel Farage to launch website for people who have been ‘de-banked’ after Coutts account scandal

Nigel Farage has announced he will launch a website to support people who have been ‘de-banked’ following the scandal surrounding the closure of his Coutts bank account.

It was revealed earlier this month that Farage’s account with private bank Coutts, owned by Natwest, had been unexpectedly closed - which the BBC reported was due to the politician falling below the financial threshold required of customers. However, Farage then announced that he had obtained a 40-page dossier compiled on him by Coutts, which revealed that he did in fact meet the bank’s strict economic criteria, and was instead dropped because his views “did not align” with its values.

Farage branded the document, which reported there were “significant reputational risks of being associated with him”, as “political persecution at the very highest level.” Natwest boss Dame Alison Rose was subsequently forced to apologise for the “deeply inappropriate comments” made in the dossier, before she later resigned as the bank’s chief executive after admitting she had leaked the “inaccurate” story about Farage’s funds to the BBC.

Now, Farage has said he will supports others who, like him, were de-banked, in their quests to “find out the truth” about the reasons for their account closures. Speaking on his GB News show, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader said: “I will be, in the course of the next few days launching a website. It will be absolutely non-political, non-party political in any way at all.

“It will just be for everyone that has been de-banked to get together, I’ll be asking you for your details, I’ll be asking which bank got rid of you, I’ll be asking you whether there is any reasons were given. I will help people to understand how to put in subject access requests which is how I found out the truth.

“And maybe, if we can form thousands of us, maybe it will be tens of thousands of us... If we can form a powerful lobby, we can get ministers and Parliament to look at laws that need changing. Banking needs a cultural change, banking needs legislative change. Banking in Britain right now is absolutely rotten.”

After Farage first publicly spoke out about his bank account closure, others followed in claiming they too have been “de-banked” for political reasons. The Rev Richard Fothergill for instance claimed his account with Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) was shut down after he wrote to complain about the company pushing transgender ideology.

“‘I know cancel culture exists and this is my first first-hand experience of it. I wouldn’t want this bullying to happen to anyone else,” he told The Times. But YBS said it would only close an account if a customer was rude, abusive, violent, or discriminatory.

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Anthony Browne, a former chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, said that people were increasingly having their accounts shut down for saying something the lender disagrees with.

“Banks are entitled to decide who they offer services to, and there are very few protections for customers in this,’ he told BBC Radio 4. “One cause for concern is the increasing number of cases of people having their accounts closed down because the payment provider doesn’t agree with what they say on a particular issue. It’s a major concern – it will have a chilling effect on free speech and freedom of belief.”

The government has also involved itself in the dispute, with sources telling The Times that ministers are considering new laws which could see banks lose their licences if they close customers’ accounts over political views. According to the newspaper, the changes could be brought in in an effort to protect “free speech” - with banks required to clearly explain why an account is being shut.

The Treasury will also reportedly soon announce plans to extend the notice time that must be given to customers when a bank wants to close their accounts, from one month to three months - although nothing has been officially confirmred.