Nigel Farage calls for entire Natwest board to go after Rose resignation
Nigel Farage has called on the entire Natwest board to go after chief executive Dame Alison Rose resigned overnight after an extraordinary late-night board meeting – just hours after the bank’s chairman issued a statement offering her their full confidence.
Rose outed herself as the source of a BBC story into the finances of Nigel Farage late yesterday, who had claimed that Natwest-owned Coutts had ‘debanked’ him over his political views.
Speaking on GB News, the former UKIP leader said her departure was “a start” but argued that the “whole board needs to go”.
He argued Coutts boss Peter Flavel must take “ultimate responsibility” while chair Sir Howard Davies is “responsible for overall governance”.
Speaking on Sky News, Farage said that he has been turned down by a further ten banks.
Meanwhile City minister Andrew Griffith said it was “right” that Rose had stepped down.
Griffith said: “This would never have happened if Natwest had not taken it upon itself to withdraw a bank account due to someone’s lawful political views. That was and is always unacceptable.”
“I hope the whole financial sector learns from this incident. Its role is to serve customers well and fairly, not to tell them how or what to think,” he continued.
In a letter sent on Monday, Griffith expressed concern that regulations around politically exposed persons are being applied in a “disproportionate manner” by some firms. He said the government would “take all action necessary” to stop accounts being closed in response to customers’ political views.
Policing Minister Chris Philp said a lot of MPs have been turned for being politically exposed person.
“It is not spoken about much but if you look at almost any MP they will have had an experience like this, I think the Nigel Farage case is an extreme one, but I’m afraid it’s not unique,” Philip said.
Under proposals already announced by the Treasury, banks will be required to give an explicit explanation of why they are closing accounts and customers will be given rights of appeal.