NatWest

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By Tom EspinerBusiness reporter, BBC News

Nigel Farage has called for the whole Natwest board to follow boss Dame Alison Rose in quitting as The Row over his bank account closure escalated.

" The board of Natwest endorsed her Position . . They simply all have to go, " the ex-UKIP leader told GB News.

Dame Alison quit abruptly early on Wednesday after admitting she had made a mistake in speaking to The Bbc about Mr Farage's relationship with The Bank .

It came after the chancellor expressed significant concerns over her conduct.

Chair Sir Howard Davies said hours before Dame Alison resigned that it was in the interest of shareholders and customers that she stayed on as chief executive despite admitting she had made a " serious error of judgement".

The Bbc has been told Sir Howard intends to remain on until mid next year when he is expected To Retire .

City minister Andrew Griffith said given Sir Howard was already on His Way out, there was no need for him to resign.

" There's already a search under Way . . for his replacement. We should let that continue And Then in due course, obviously, The Bank will need to appoint a new chief executive" he added.

Mr Griffith said it was important that lessons are learned from what has happened at Natwest , which is 39% owned by the taxpayer.

" It's not The Job of The Bank to tell us what to think or what Political Party we should support, "

Mr Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party and a Brexiteer, said in early July that his account at private bank Coutts - which is owned by Natwest - had been closed and that he had not been given a reason.

How the Farage bank row unfolded

The Bbc reported that it was closed because he no longer met the wealth threshold for Coutts , citing a source familiar with The Matter . Mr Farage subsequently secured an internal document from Coutts which indicated his political views were also part of the decision.

The Bbc has since apologised for its inaccurate report.

Mr Farage had highlighted to The Bbc what He Said was a discrepancy between The Bbc 's apology on Monday from its chief executive Deborah Turness , which said The Bbc had gone back to The Source to check The Information , and Natwest 's statement on Tuesday.

" There is no Way , if The Bbc went back for a second time to confirm The Story , that They [The Bbc ] would not have checked that it was The Balance of my account that led to that commercial decision, " He Said .

Following her resignation the government said she was also " no longer a member of the Prime Minister 's business council".

She was also asked to step down from the government's energy efficiency taskforce and The Net zero council.

Public Trust warning

On Wednesday, economic secretary Andrew Griffith had a meeting with some of the largest banks and building societies " to discuss the importance of protecting lawful freedom of expression for customers".

The Treasury said bank bosses had acknowledged that " recent events" had hit " Public Trust for the whole sector".

The bosses agreed to bring bank policies In Line with planned rules to make it easier for customers to find out why their bank accounts had been closed and challenge the decisions.

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com