Nigel Farage ups the stakes in battle with Coutts and BBC by complaining to Information Commissioner in row that could cost bank £17.5m for misusing his data
- Nigel Farage is demanding a formal apology from the corporation
Nigel Farage has today escalated his battle with Coutts and the BBC over the closure of his bank account by lodging a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner – which has the power to hit financial institutions with £17million fines.
The former UKIP leader is demanding a formal apology from the corporation for claiming that the prestigious private bank dropped him after he fell below the required £1million threshold.
Dame Alison Rose, chief executive of Natwest – which owns Coutts – has already apologised after the bank’s internal documents revealed that the account had in reality been closed because they thought his political views did ‘not align with our values’.
Mr Farage has also written to BBC director-general Tim Davie to complain about the corporation’s reporting.
In his letter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Mr Farage places the relationship between the bank and the BBC at the centre of the furore: the BBC story was published by Business Editor Simon Jack the morning after Mr Jack sat next to Dame Alison at a charity dinner.
Ex-UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, has lodged a formal complaint with Information Commissioner in Coutts account closure rower. Pictured on Good Morning Britain in March 2023
Dame Alison Rose, CEO of Nat West leaves her North London home yesterday morning
In the letter, which has been seen by The Mail on Sunday, lawyers on behalf of Mr Farage write: ‘The content of the BBC report gives rise to the inescapable conclusion that the bank was providing confidential information comprising Mr Farage’s personal data about his financial affairs to the Press, which, on the face of it would constitute a serious data breach by the bank.’
It adds: ‘This material showed that the information that was apparently given to the BBC by Coutts or someone within the Natwest Group was at best incomplete and at worst deliberately misleading.
‘The information given to the BBC was also not fully accurate in relation to the offer of alternative banking facilities at Natwest; Mr Farage was only offered an alternative current account, and was not offered an alternative business account. Mr Farage’s sense of profound injustice, and concern for wide societal implications of the bank’s conduct, led him to feel he had to correct the position by making public the full DSAR response, even though it included information that was highly prejudicial about him.’
The letter concludes: ‘Given the gravity of this situation however, Mr Farage asks the ICO to intervene to take action to require Coutts and Natwest Group to explain promptly exactly how it has handled his personal data’.
The ICO has the power to fine Coutts a maximum of £17.5million, or 4 per cent of the total annual worldwide turnover in the preceding financial year, whichever is the higher amount.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson said that if Dame Alison ‘was in any way responsible’ for a false impression of Mr Farage’s financial circumstances being given to the media ‘then she really needs to go’.
Writing in today’s Daily Mail, Mr Johnson said: ‘This is about far more than the bank account of one person. It is about freedom under the law, for everyone in this country. It is about the freedom to think and say what you believe provided you don’t break the law without the fear of open or covert persecution.
‘That freedom made our country great. It is under threat. It is time to fight. It’s a fight about freedom to say what you want I read the bank’s dossier with cold, hard fury He’s been my political opponent but I vehemently support him’.
Mr Farage has written to BBC director-general Tim Davie to complain about the corporation’s reporting of the matter
Since the story first appeared, the BBC has quietly updated the headline of the story to clarify that the information came from a ‘source’ rather than being factual.
Analysis editor Ros Atkins admitted the article has been disproven by the release of a 36-page internal dossier on the Brexiteer, which branded him a ‘disingenuous grifter’ who promoted ‘xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views’.
The BBC posted a statement that said: ‘We acknowledge that the information we reported – that Coutts’ decision on Mr Farage’s account did not involve considerations about his political views – turned out not to be accurate.’
Mr Jack wrote on Twitter: ‘The headline on the Farage story has been clarified and an update posted. It should have been clearer at the top that the reason for Mr Farage’s account being closed was commercial – was what a source told the BBC. That has been corrected.’
