HM Treasury

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Nigel Farage has launched a fresh attack over Coutts bank's decision to close his account.

The Bbc had Mr Farage had fallen below the financial threshold needed for an account, citing a source familiar with The Move .

Speaking on Radio 4 on Wednesday, Mr Farage said The Bbc had fallen for " spin" and restated that he been " cancelled" for his political views.

Coutts said decisions to close an account " are not taken lightly".

In The Commons on Wednesday, responding to The Row over Mr Farage's account, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it " wouldn't be right" for Financial Services to be denied to those expressing lawful free speech and said the government would be " toughening The Rules around account closures" following a consultation.

The Bbc has been told this is expected to include giving customers more notice of planned account closures, and the rationale behind them, and therefore more ability to appeal decisions.

Former leader of the UK Independence Party Mr Farage spoke to BBC Radio 4 's World at One after he obtained a report on Tuesday which had reviewed his suitability as a client,

He told the programme that report had mentioned Brexit and his alleged links to Russia.

" Apparently, I'm a risk to them. I have virtually no links of any kind to Russia whatsoever. This is political. There is No Other way of looking at it, " He Said .

The document also gave examples of Mr Farage's views, including his retweet of a Ricky Gervais joke about trans women and his friendship with Tennis Player Novak Djokovic , who is opposed to Covid vaccinations, to flag concerns that Mr Farage is " xenophobic and racist".

He Said : " Let's be clear what this 40-page document shows, it shows that on November 17th 2022, [Coutts'] reputational risk committee met and said, I did not I did not align with their values, that somehow I wasn't part of their diversity and inclusion agenda. "

In turn He Said for those reasons that there should be a " path to closing my account. "

The document - which The Bbc has not seen a copy of - makes disclosures including:

Mr Farage said The Report stated " very clearly" that he had met The Bank 's commercial criteria. The Bank , owned by Natwest, says customers must borrow or invest £1m or have £3m in savings.

" For them to try subsequently to pretend that it's for commercial reasons just is not true. "

In July , but said they did not have problem with it for The Last 10 Years .

Coutts said on Wednesday it recognised " the substantial interest" in the Farage case.

" We cannot comment on The Detail given our customer confidentiality obligations. However, it is not Coutts' policy to close customer accounts solely on the basis of legally held political and personal views. Decisions to close an account are not taken lightly and involve A Number of factors including commercial viability, reputational considerations, and legal and regulatory requirements.

" We recognise the critical importance of access to banking. When it became clear that our client was unable to secure banking facilities elsewhere, and as he has confirmed publicly, he was offered alternative banking facilities with NatWest. That offer stands, " it added.

Earlier on Wednesday, The Bbc was told dropping under the wealth threshold could prompt The Bank to conduct a wider review of the customer's profile, including reputational and legal risk.

At Prime Minister 's Questions on Wednesday Former Brexit secretary David Davis accused The Bank of lying about the " commercial viability" of Mr Farage's account in anonymous briefings to The Bbc .

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, also called for an inquiry into What Happened .

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said elsewhere that this " exposes the sinister nature of much of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion industry".

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A Hm Treasury spokesperson said: " It would be of serious concern if Financial Services were being denied to anyone exercising their right to lawful free speech.

" We will soon set out plans to Crack Down on this practice by toughening The Rules around account closures, protecting freedom of expression.

" In the meantime, people can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service which has The Power to direct a bank to reopen an account. "

Coutts said: " We understand The Public concern that the processes for ending a customer relationship, and how that is communicated, are not sufficiently transparent. "

The Bank added that it welcomed the Treasury plans to prioritise the review of the regulatory rules relating to politically exposed persons.

The government since January has been taking evidence on how private companies' right to commercial independence is balanced with individuals' rights to freedom of expression.

Government insiders have told The Bbc the government's view is that The Balance has " tipped" too far in companies' favour.

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Source of news: bbc.com