NatWest boss Alison Rose resigns over Nigel Farage bank account leak
NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose has resigned after admitting to being the source of an inaccurate story about Nigel Farage’s bank account.
Her four-year tenure as chief executive has ended in ignominy over her admission that she had discussed Mr Farage’s bank details with a BBC journalist.
Number 10 said Dame Alison has “done the right thing” by resigning, and 19 bank chiefs will attend a Treasury summit today after reports some businesses have had their accounts closed with no explanation.
Mr Farage told Sky News “the whole board needs to go” at NatWest following the resignation of Dame Alison.
Politics latest: Nigel Farage says 10 banks have rejected him and he’s struggling to get an account
The former Brexit campaigner said Howard Davies, the chairman of the NatWest Group, had continued to endorse Dame Alison even after it emerged she was the person who had leaked to the BBC.
“The first rule of banking is you have to obey client confidentiality. So they have made a complete and utter mess of this,” he said.
Mr Farage said he has not decided whether he will seek compensation and the row over his account closure has “absorbed my life for many months”.
He added a subject access request from the NatWest Group revealed his account was “commercially viable” and its closure was a “political decision”.
The former UKIP leader also said he hadn’t been able to open another bank account and claimed he has been turned down by 10 banks.
Mr Farage also claimed he has been “approached by literally thousands of people all over this country that have been unfairly closed down by NatWest”.
NatWest’s shares were down by as much as 3.5% following the news of Dame Alison’s resignation.
Dame Alison had held her position as NatWest Group chief executive for four years
Downing Street agrees with Dame Alison’s decision to step down
Meanwhile, a Number 10 source has told Sky News the prime minister “was concerned about the unfolding situation” and that it is felt Dame Alison has “done the right thing in resigning”.
The source said: “Everyone would expect people in public life – whether that’s in a business leadership role or otherwise – to act responsibly and with integrity.”
David Lindberg, the CEO of NatWest’s retail bank, is among those attending the Treasury summit with 18 other bank chiefs to discuss “de-banking” amid reports businesses are having their accounts withheld or withdrawn with little or no explanation. Freedom of expression will also be discussed at the summit.
City minister Andrew Griffith tweeted it is “right that the NatWest CEO has resigned”.
He added: “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.”
NatWest chairman says resignation is a ‘sad moment’
Sir Howard said earlier the board and Dame Alison agreed by “mutual consent” that she would step down from her role.
He said it was a “sad moment” and that Dame Alison has “dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest”.
In a statement, Dame Alison said: “I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth.
“My NatWest colleagues are central to that success, and so I would like to personally thank them for all that they have done.”
The resignation was expected in the wake of briefings by Downing Street that she had lost the confidence of the prime minister and chancellor
Their concerns were echoed by Mr Farage, who accused the management of Coutts bank – which is owned by NatWest – of a “serious breach” and called Dame Alison’s position “totally untenable”.
The story first came to light when the BBC inaccurately reported Mr Farage’s account was closed as he did not meet Coutts’s financial thresholds.
Documents obtained by Mr Farage subsequently showed his political beliefs and connections formed part of the rationale.
Mr Farage told Sky News he has written to Peter Flavell, head of NatWest’s Coutts unit, “three times” since his account was closed and had not even had the “courtesy of an acknowledgement”.
Dame Alison had said she believed it was public knowledge Mr Farage was a customer of private bank Coutts and had been offered a NatWest account, and so confirmed these details to BBC business editor Simon Jack.
She later called her actions a “serious error of judgement” but reiterated the bank saw the account closure as a commercial decision and she was not part of the decision-making process.
On Monday, the BBC apologised for the report, following earlier apologies from both Coutts and Dame Alison.
Paul Thwaite, the current chief executive of the company’s commercial and institutional business, was announced as an interim chief executive, for an initial period of 12 months, pending regulatory approval.
The board said a process to appoint a permanent successor will take place in due course.
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Sir Keir Starmer continues to face the threat of a major rebellion during a key vote on welfare reforms later – despite making last-minute concessions to disgruntled Labour MPs.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that all existing claimants of the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit, will be protected from changes to eligibility.
The combined value of the standard Universal Credit allowance and the health top-up will rise “at least in line with inflation” every year of this parliament.
And an additional £300m for employment support for sick and disabled people in 2026 has been announced, which will rise every year after.
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Welfare cuts ‘needed to be made’
Ms Kendall has also promised that a consultation into PIP – “co-produced” with disabled people – will be published next autumn.
She said the U-turn on welfare cuts will cost taxpayers about £2.5bn by 2030 – less than half the £4.8bn the government had expected to save with its initial proposals.
Modelling by Ms Kendall’s own department, released yesterday, suggested the proposals would push 150,000 more people into poverty by 2030, down from the 250,000 estimated under the original plan.
But after announcing the U-turns, Labour MPs were still publicly saying they could not back the plans as they do not go far enough to allay their concerns.
Disabilities minister Stephen Timms would not say he was “confident” the proposals would pass the Commons when asked on Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge.
“We’ve got a very strong package, I certainly hope it passes,” he replied.
Read more: What are the concessions to the welfare reform bill?
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‘Disabled people thrown under the bus’
A total of 86 charities united yesterday to call on MPs to reject the reforms, saying they will harm disabled people and calling it “a political choice”.
The likes of Oxfam, Child Action Poverty Group, Mind and Shelter said the bill has been brought to a vote without consulting disabled people and without any assessment “of its impact on health and employment outcomes”.
When asked to name “a single” disability organisation in favour of the reforms, Ms Kendall declined to do so.
Several Labour MPs indicated they would still vote against the changes, leaving the government in the dark over how big a rebellion it still may face.
Ms Kendall tried to allay their fears, telling MPs: “I believe we have a fair package, a package that protects existing claimants because they’ve come to rely on that support.”
Richard Burgon presented a petition to parliament yesterday evening against the cuts, signed by more than 77,000 people.
Several Labour MPs questioned why the vote was going ahead before the review into PIP is published – including Rachael Maskell, who said she could not “countenance sick and disabled people being denied support” and added: “It is a matter of conscience.”
Connor Naismith said the concessions “undoubtedly improve efforts to secure welfare reform which is fair”, but added: “Unfortunately, I do not believe these concessions yet go far enough.”
Labour rebel Nadia Whittome said the government was ‘ignoring’ disabled people
Nadia Whittome accused the government of “ignoring” disabled people and urged ministers to go “back to the drawing board”.
Ian Byrne told the Commons he will vote against the “cruel cuts” to disability benefits because the “so-called concessions go nowhere near far enough”.
The vote will take place this evening, with coverage on Sky News’ Politics Hub live blog and on TV.
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