Labour MP Darren Jones has queried why the prime minister is intervening on Mr Farage's bank account.

He posted a string of other examples, external where he says the government has not intervened.

He said: "If ministers really wanted to crack down on CEO behaviour, they would have done so in many cases by now.

"So why intervene in the Coutts-Farage case? It’s about power.

"The power Farage seems to have over the Tories. And the lack of it that everyday workers and customers have."

Knight adds that "everyone in the UK has a legal right to hold what's called a basic bank account," she says those rules came into force a couple of years ago.

In the legislation, it says that banks cannot discriminate against based on political grounds or any other opinion - as well as protected characteristics such as race and gender.

But, Knight adds, it doesn't seem Farage is referring to a basic bank account, but rather one with rather more "bells and whistles".

Angela Knight, the former chief executive of the British Banking Association, is now speaking to BBC Radio 4. She says the banking industry will now be in a process of checking their own conduct.

Asked if it the issue concerns the interface of politicians and banks, rather than the relationship between members of the public and banks she said: "It certainly is the interface of politically exposed persons and banks."

Knight says there is a wide range of people deemed to be politically exposed persons, including government ministers and senior judges.

She says it is "a very, very wide range of people" who are subject to additional checks, and the UK is not the only country that does it.

However, Knight adds, "perhaps we [the UK] have gone too far".

Knight says she is not surprised the political establishment is engaged on the issue, as many politicians and their family members have had to face additional checks as mentioned earlier by Tory MP Chris Philp.

The Today programme's Nick Robinson asks Farage if he's thinking about renewing his political career in time for next year's election.

"I'm not about to do that, no," he replies.

Farage says he's only interested in campaigning for cultural and legal changes within the banking sector.

Farage says that given you cannot live in the modern world without a bank account, he feels compelled to stand up for other people who are being denied access to one because of their political views.

He says he's now a "champion and crusader for men and women who've been closed down by the banks".

Nigel Farage says he decided to "go public" because "tens of thousands of people have had their accounts closed".

He says this is happening across the country, in an industry - banking - that was bailed out by the public.

"I was kicked out of the bank because of my political views," Farage says.

Adding that he is "far from alone", and he accuses banks of monitoring people's social media, and people's lives have been "ruined".

He commends the government's reaction to the issue, saying that he welcomed City minister Andrew Griffiths stance earlier this morning.

Nigel Farage says that not only did NatWest's board endorse Alison Rose, they "endorsed a plain untruth" when she claimed that she did not reveal any of Farage's bank details to the BBC's Simon Jack.

We're now hearing from Nigel Farage himself, as he speaks to the Today programme - you can listen by clicking on the play button above.

Farage says "it took a long time" for Dame Alison Rose to resign.

"The first rule of banking is client confidentiality," Farage says.

He adds that anybody in a more junior position at the bank would have been "out of the door".

The UK taxpayer - that's you and me - owns 39% of NatWest.

That's because the government was forced to bail the bank out to the tune of £20bn in 2008 when the global financial crisis was at its height and the lender faced collapse.

At that time, it was known as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) but it was later rebranded as NatWest.

The government has steadily been selling down its stake, including offloading £1.2bn worth of NatWest shares this year.

It is aiming to sell its entire stake by 2025 or 2026.

Tory minister Chris Philp has just been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He says there were "very deep concerns in government about what had happened," adding that it appeared that Rose disclosed confidential information about a client at a dinner.

"It is clearly right that she has resigned," Philp says.

"In fact there are wider issues here as well, concerning banks potentially not providing banking services to people because of their lawful political views," he added.

"That is completely wrong, we believe in free speech in this country, we believe in political freedom."

An issue much wider than NatWest and Faragepublished at 08:00 British Summer Time 26 July 2023

08:00 BST 26 July 2023

Dearbail Jordan
Business reporter

The issue about people being "de-banked" - having their accounts closed by their bank - has been going on for much longer than the Nigel Farage/Natwest row.

And it isn't just about traditional lenders.

Late last year, Paypal closed accounts run by Toby Young, who is general secretary of the Free Speech Union. They were later reinstated by the US payments company.

The UK government then announced a review into payment services regulations.

One of the major sticking points has been about so-called "politically exposed person" or PEPs.

These are people who hold a prominent position or influence who may be more susceptible to being involved in bribery or corruption, and banks are required to do extra due diligence them.

There have been concerns that lenders and payment firms may have been "overzealous" in using PEPs to close the accounts of people because they disagree with their political views.

The UK government has since announced new rules for banks over closing a customer's account.

Banks will have to explain why they are closing accounts and will have to give a notice period of 90 days to allow people more time to appeal against the decision.

Freddy Colquhoun, investment director at the wealth management company JM Finn, spoke to 5 Live’s Wake up to Money earlier.

“I think as soon as you lose the confidence of Downing Street, who is also a major shareholder, then something needs to change quite quickly,” he said.

He said confidentiality is "one of the major pillars of trust between the clients and the bank” and you should expect your information to be held securely without other people getting hold of it.

On chief executive Dame Alison Rose leaving the bank, he says it’ll be a blow for her drive to get more women on boards of FTSE 100 companies.

He says, “she's been a real champion as well for getting women into the workforce”.

You can hear more here.

Sir Philip Augar, a former banker who was a member of the cross-party Future of Banking Commission, has just been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Asked if Dame Alison Rose's resignation was inevitable, Augar says "the way it's panned out, it had to be", and it does not reflect well on the NatWest hierarchy and chain of command.

Augar says there are two issues at core of this row - one is "the principle of de-banking people for their political views," the other is the issue of client confidentiality.

"If you go to your doctor, it is fine for you to tell your friends 'I've been to the doctor'. But it is not fine for the doctor to tell his friends: ''I've seen X'".

Augar says he feels sympathy for Rose, as "everyone makes mistakes in their job, these things happen, but in banking it's always very high profile".

Augar tells the BBC that although this has been a "big warning shot", he would be "really surprised if this is a massive industry-wide issue".

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

The prime minister believes Dame Alison Rose was right to resign.

Rishi Sunak was concerned about the “unfolding situation” last night before Dame Alison announced she was quitting.

A No 10 source said people in public life should be expected to act “responsibly and with integrity”.

A document obtained by the former UKIP leader included minutes from a meeting in November last year reviewing his suitability as a client.

It said continuing to have Farage as a customer was not consistent with Coutts' "position as an inclusive organisation" given his "publicly stated views".

It mentioned Farage's retweet of a Ricky Gervais joke about trans women and his friendship with tennis player Novak Djokovic, who is opposed to Covid vaccinations.

It gave several examples, including his comparing Black Lives Matter protesters to the Taliban, and his characterisation of the RNLI as a "taxi-service" for illegal immigrants, to flag concerns that he was "xenophobic and racist".

On Thursday, Farage implied that thousands of others had also had their accounts closed by NatWest - and urged them to file their own subject access requests.

The BBC understands that the bank has experienced a noticeable increase in such requests - read more here.

City Minister Andrew Griffith has told the BBC that the resignation of NatWest chief executive Alison Rose was right.

He said: "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."

He added the whole finance sector "should learn from this" and not tell clients "how or what to think".

Mr Griffith will meet banks today to discuss plans to bring in changes requiring banks to explain and delay decisions to close accounts.

Image source, Getty Images

Most of us could be forgiven for not knowing much about Coutts - it's not something you find on the high street.

It's a private bank and requires clients to have savings of £3 million or to borrow or invest at least £1 million.

Their most famous clients are the Royal family, who have been banking with Coutts since 1692, as well as the Beatles and, most recently, rapper Stormzy.

Coutt's website says its clients are "exceptional" and adds the bank has "a deep understanding of what it means to be wealthy and to be able to shape the fabric of society".

Headquartered on the Strand in London, Coutts became part of the NatWest group in 2000.

Farage says he wants to see cultural change at NatWest, as he vows to campaign on account closures.

"They ought to go back to being a bank, rather than being a moral arbiter for political positions," Farage says.

Widely known for his anti-EU and right-wing views, Farage says he believes there is "a massive anti-Brexit prejudice" within the banking industry and "the whole thing needs to change".

Farage says he wants "a fundamental change of the banking laws" and he aims to support City minister Andrew Griffith - we'll bring you his thoughts shortly.

Farage continues, saying anybody on the NatWest Group board that backed the statement put out at 17:42 BST on Tuesday "should be gone".

He called the NatWest board statement - which said the board had "full confidence" in chief executive Dame Alison Rose - "totally unsustainable and untrue".

We're now hearing from the man at the centre of this banking row, Nigel Farage - he's been speaking to GB News.

He says the NatWest boss' resignation is "a start" but the "whole board needs to go".