Nigel Farage calls for more NatWest resignations – as data privacy watchdog writes to banks

Published

2 years ago

July 27, 2023

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Bank bosses have made a commitment to free speech, according to the government, in the wake of the Nigel Farage de-banking row that claimed the scalp of NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose.

On Wednesday afternoon the Information Commissioner’s Office announced it has written to banks to remind them of their “responsibility to the public”.

“Banks should not be holding inaccurate information, they should not be using information in a way that is unduly unexpected, and they should not be holding any more information than is necessary,” the Information Commissioner John Edwards said.

Dame Alison’s four-year tenure as chief executive ended in ignominy last night following her admission that she had discussed Mr Farage’s bank details with a BBC journalist, suggesting too that his account at the bank’s Coutts division had been closed only for commercial, rather than any political, reasons.

“Any suggestion that this trust has been betrayed will be concerning for a bank’s customers, and for regulators like myself,” Mr Edwards said.

Number 10 said Dame Alison had “done the right thing” by resigning and confirmed she was no longer a member of the prime minister’s business council. She has also left two roles she had with the department for energy after the secretary of state asked her to step down from both positions.

Treasury minister Andrew Griffith met 19 bank bosses for a summit on Wednesday to discuss concerns other figures, not just Mr Farage, were being denied access to banking due to their politics or perceived beliefs.

Mr Griffith said afterwards: “It’s not the job of banks to tell us what to think, or what political party we should support.

“The government’s been extremely clear on this, in a democracy that relies upon freedom of expression… that is not a legitimate thing for a bank to remove someone’s access to a bank account.”

A readout of the meeting’s conclusions suggested the industry had agreed to work with government and regulators on the implementation of new rules aimed at strengthening protections on account terminations or access to accounts.

“Attendees from the sector acknowledged that recent events had impacted upon public trust for the whole sector and expressed their clear commitment to government policy on account closure and to act quickly to restore confidence,” the document said.

Mr Farage told Sky News “the whole board needs to go” at NatWest following the resignation of Dame Alison.

The former Brexit campaigner said Sir Howard Davies, 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.

Sky’s City editor Mark Kleinman suggested it was unlikely Sir Howard would follow her out of the bank despite intense pressure on his own position, saying it could even be prolonged beyond his planned departure next year given the search for Dame Alison’s successor and the need for stability at the top of the bank.

“The first rule of banking is you have to obey client confidentiality. So they have made a complete and utter mess of this,” Mr Farage said, adding he had not decided whether he will seek compensation and the row over his account closure has “absorbed my life for many months”.

He said 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 4% following the news of Dame Alison’s resignation and were leading the fallers on the FTSE 100.

Mr Griffith earlier 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.

Politics

Canadian regulator excludes crypto funds from reduced margin eligibility

Published

4 hours ago

February 6, 2025

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Canadian regulator excludes crypto funds from reduced margin eligibility

Canada’s equities regulator has excluded crypto funds from reduced margin eligibility, citing volatility, liquidity risks and regulatory concerns, making leveraged trading more expensive.

Politics

Victims’ families criticise ‘deeply sensitive decision’ to demolish Grenfell Tower

Published

6 hours ago

February 6, 2025

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Victims' families criticise 'deeply sensitive decision' to demolish Grenfell Tower

Grenfell campaigners have reacted to the “deeply sensitive decision” by the deputy prime minister to demolish the tower block.

Victims’ families and survivors were given the news in a meeting attended by Angela Rayner on Wednesday night.

Grenfell Next of Kin, which represents some of the bereaved families, described it as a “deeply sensitive decision… after a thorough engagement process in person” following an “uncomfortable conversation with uncomfortable truths”.

In a statement on X the group said: “The lack of closure, the continuous discussions and consultations, the retraumatisation of a divisive and painful debate brings nothing to the table except pain and further division.

“We want a discussion about what will go in the Tower’s place so it can be seen and remembered forever. We need to re-imagine a future and rebuild our broken shattered lives and our families.”

The government has previously said there will be no changes to the site before the eighth anniversary of the fire disaster, which claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017.

It is expected more details will be set out by ministers by the end of the week.

Engineering experts have said that while the tower remains stable, and it is safe for people to live, work and study nearby, its condition will worsen over time and there is no realistic prospect of bringing it back into use.

The latest advice issued to the government in September was that the building, or the part of it that was significantly damaged, should be taken down.

Meanwhile, another campaign group, Grenfell United, claimed Ms Rayner had not given a reason behind her decision during the meeting and refused to say how many of the victims’ families and survivors had been consulted.

In a statement, it said: “But judging from the room alone – the vast majority of whom were bereaved – no one supported her decision. But she claims her decision is based on our views.

“Ignoring the voices of bereaved on the future of our loved ones’ gravesite is disgraceful and unforgivable.”

Grenfell Next of Kin expressed a different opinion, suggesting the decision by Ms Rayner “must have been difficult” and adding that “all the previous Secretaries of State [for Housing, Communities and Local Government] avoided making a decision despite the harm it did to us and the community.”

Local Labour MP Joe Powell also defended Ms Rayner posting on X that following “intensive engagement with our community… the decision to start planning for the Tower to come down has not been taken lightly”.

What is left of the tower has stood in place since the tragedy, with a covering on the building featuring a large green heart accompanied by the words “forever in our hearts”.

Views have varied on what should happen to the site.

Some of the bereaved and survivors feel the tower should remain in place until there are criminal prosecutions over the failings which led to the disaster.

The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September, concluded the fire was the result of “decades of failure” by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings.

The west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.

He said the “simple truth” is that all the deaths were avoidable and that those who lived in the tower were “badly failed” by authorities “in most cases through incompetence but, in some cases, through dishonesty and greed”.

However, the Metropolitan Police said last year that decisions on criminal charges for the Grenfell Tower blaze are not expected until the end of 2026.

It would mean a near 10-year wait for justice if anyone is ultimately charged – a period of time described by families as “unbearable”.

The disaster was Britain’s deadliest residential fire since the Second World War and began a national reckoning over the safety and conditions of social housing and tower blocks.

Separately, the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission has been consulting on plans for a permanent memorial in the area of the tower.

A shortlist of five potential design teams was announced last month, with a winner expected to be selected this summer to enable a planning application to be submitted in late 2026.

A government spokesperson said: “The priority for the deputy prime minister is to meet with and write to the bereaved, survivors and the immediate community to let them know her decision on the future of the Grenfell Tower.

“This is a deeply personal matter for all those affected, and the deputy prime minister is committed to keeping their voice at the heart of this.”

Politics

Conservatives pledge to tighten immigration rules in Reform fightback

Published

6 hours ago

February 6, 2025

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Conservatives pledge to tighten immigration rules in Reform fightback

The Conservative Party is pledging to tighten immigration rules after Reform topped a landmark poll for the first time earlier this week.

In her first major policy announcement as Tory Party leader, Kemi Badenoch is pledging to double the amount of time an immigrant needs to have been in the UK before claiming indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years.

In order to claim indefinite leave to remain after 10 years, the individual must also meet new, tightened conditions.

These include not having claimed benefits or used social housing during the entire qualification period, not having a criminal record and being able to demonstrate that their household would be a “net contributor”.

Ms Badenoch accused Labour of being “not serious about tackling immigration” and said there needs to be a “new approach”.

“Our country is not a dormitory, it’s our home,” she said.

“The right to citizenship and permanent residency should only go to those who have demonstrated a real commitment to the UK. That’s why we should double the length of time before people can qualify for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years.

“The Conservative Party is under new leadership. We’re going to tell the hard truths about immigration.

“The pace of immigration has been too quick and the numbers coming too high for meaningful integration. We need to slow down the track for citizenship. A UK passport should be a privilege not an automatic right.

“Far from reducing the number of people coming into Britain, the Labour government are presiding over an incoming disaster.

“The Border Security Bill will actually make it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the UK, let alone legal migrants. No one can trust Labour on immigration.”

The announcement comes just days after Reform topped a Sky News/YouGov poll for the first time as the party continues to shake up British politics.

The poll, taken on 2 February and 3 February, showed Nigel Farage’s party has edged in front on 25%, with Labour pushed into second on 24% and the Tories on 21%.

It also put the Lib Dems on 14% and Greens on 9%.

All the polling moves that push Reform UK to the top for the first time this week are within the margin of error and the overall picture remains unchanged – with Britain in a new period of three party politics in the polls.

According to the poll, one in five Tory voters at the last election would now vote for Reform.

The Sky News/YouGov poll also found Kemi Badenoch has slipped behind Nigel Farage when voters are asked whether they have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of the leaders.

Last month, Badenoch had a net favourability rating of -25, but that has now dropped to -29 this month.

This puts her below Farage, who had a net favourability rating of -32 last month, which has now risen to -27 this month.

Labour’s border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “While [the Conservatives] scramble around for relevance, this Labour government is getting on with clearing up the mess they left behind – raising deportations, returns and removals to the highest rate in six years, increasing the number of illegal working raids and cutting the costs of the asylum system.”