Nigel Farage claims to have documents which prove Coutts Bank closed account due to political views
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The ex-Brexit Party and UKIP leader said he had gained access to a report by the bank’s wealth reputational risk committee via a subject access request. The BBC previously reported that his account was being closed because he fell below the financial threshold.
Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Farage said that the "36-page" document shows that he was targeted "on personal and political grounds". According to what the Telegraph says are minutes of a meeting of Coutts’ wealth reputational risk committee held on November 17 2022, they read: "The committee did not think continuing to bank NF [Nigel Farage] was compatible with Coutts given his publicly-stated views that were at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation.
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Hide Ad"This was not a political decision but one centred around inclusivity and purpose."
He also said there was a perception that he was regarded as "racist and xenophobic", which he called an "appalling slur".
In a video posted to his Twitter account, Mr Farage said he put in a subject access request because he wanted to establish the reason "behind them closing the account". He said it read like "a brief that you could give to a barrister ahead of a serious criminal trial", and made several references to Brexit and Russia.
!['The revised slogan ‘Make Brexit Work’ underlines Nigel Farage’s point that it has failed.'](https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjBkZjg1ZjdmLTgxZjItNGQyNy1iNjgwLTY4OGQ3MTU1YTMwYjo2NDYyNjlkOS1iOGE1LTRkMWItOGNmYy04ZGMwYTc5ZDk2ZDY=.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&width=640&quality=65)
!['The revised slogan ‘Make Brexit Work’ underlines Nigel Farage’s point that it has failed.'](/img/placeholder.png)
The GB News presenter added that the document said that closing his accounts for financial reasons was not justified because his "economic contribution is now sufficient to retain on a commercial basis".
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Hide AdCoutts Bank said: "Our ability to respond is restricted by our obligations of client confidentiality. Decisions to close accounts are not taken lightly and take into account a number of factors including commercial viability, reputational considerations, and legal and regulatory requirements."
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