Nigel Farage Slams "Work of Fiction" Debanking Review After No Evidence of Political Discrimination by Coutts is Found

Furious Farage

Nigel Farage has strongly criticized a review into debanking practices, calling it a "work of fiction" after it found no evidence of political discrimination by Coutts, the posh bank that closed his account. The independent probe was launched following Farage's allegations against the bank. Earlier this year, Coutts' owner NatWest admitted serious failings in its treatment of the Brexiteer.

No Evidence of Discrimination

Law firm Travers Smith, commissioned to conduct the review, stated that there was no evidence of discrimination. The firm examined 84 account closures between July and a two-year period, which accounted for approximately ten percent of the 897 accounts closed during that time.

"A Work of Fiction"

Nigel Farage, the former leader of Ukip, insisted that the Travers Smith report is "a work of fiction" and claimed that it does not reflect the true reasons why his account was closed. He did, however, acknowledge that the report highlighted serious deficiencies in NatWest's account closure procedures and called on the bank to review its practices.

Improving Communication

The review recommended that Coutts should improve the way it communicates "exit decisions" to its customers. Coutts' chief, Mohammad Syed, acknowledged that there are lessons to be learned and apologized to customers whose experiences fell short of their expectations.

Resignation of NatWest Chief

In July, NatWest chief Alison Rose resigned after discussing Nigel Farage's account with a BBC journalist.