Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

What a difference a few hours makes.

On Tuesday evening, the NatWest group said it had full confidence in Dame Alison Rose.

She admitted having a conversation with a BBC journalist about Nigel Farage’s bank account – but denied disclosing personal information.

There was talk of her pay being docked and she admitted making a “serious error of judgment”.

But at the time, she appeared intent on staying in her job.

However, things changed when it became clear there was serious political unease – all the way up to the top of government.

As the BBC and others reported last night, the chancellor had “significant concerns” about the situation.

Remember, NatWest’s biggest shareholder is still the taxpayer.

So another meeting of the NatWest board was called late last night.

In the early hours of this morning, Dame Alison quit.

NatWest Group chairman Sir Howard Davies said it was a "sad moment" as he announced Dame Alison Rose would be stepping down by "mutal consent" with Natwest.

In a short statement quoted by PA, he said: "The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group. It is a sad moment.

"She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her."

In a separate statement, Rose thanked her colleagues "for all that they [had] done".

She 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."

She had earlier apologised for discussing the closure of Nigel Farage's account at NatWest's private banking arm Coutts with a BBC journalist, saying it was a "serious error of judgement".

Read the full story here.

We can just confirm that Nigel Farage will be speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme later this morning, so do tune in to get his reaction to news of Dame Alison Rose's departure.

We expect to hear from him just after 8am.

They may not have been in time for Dame Alison Rose's actual resignation but it appears the UK's papers already believed the writing was on the wall for her.

Many of the front pages - which went to press before the announcement - questioned how long the NatWest boss could stay in her job after she admitted making a "serious error of judgement" by talking about Nigel Farage's bank account.

The Daily Telegraph led on Rose saying she would not resign while the Times said Downing Street wanted her to quit.

The Daily Mail bluntly asked "What planet is she on?" and the Guardian said Rose had issued a grovelling apology in an attempt to save her job.

Read more about what the newspapers are saying here.

Image source, PA Media

It's the early hours of the morning here in London and we have still to see any response from Nigel Farage himself.

For those who don't know who he is, the 59-year-old has helped shaped British politics in recent years as he led the campaign for the UK to have a referendum on leaving the European Union in 2016 - which ultimately happened.

He worked in the City, and developed an interest in politics. He joined the Conservatives but became disillusioned with the way the party was going under John Major, and was furious when the prime minister signed the Maastricht Treaty, stipulating an "ever-closer union" between European nations.

Farage decided to break away and became one of the founder members of the UK Independence Party, which was then known as the Anti-Federalist League.

He stepped down from the party after the 2016 referendum saw 52% of voters choose to leave the EU, but returned to politics in 2019 when he launched The Brexit Party during former Prime Minister Theresa May's negotiations to create a divorce deal with the bloc.

Farage is now a television presenter on GB News.

What a difference a week makes. The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins looked at the dispute in detail when it became clear the BBC's initial report was inaccurate.

Watch his analysis from 20 July below.

Image source, PA Media

Over three decades in banking Dame Alison Rose forged a reputation as a champion of women in business.

As head of NatWest Group, formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Rose had overseen a bank with some 19 million customers in the UK and 60,000 employees globally.

She got the top job in 2019, becoming the first woman to lead a major British bank.

Speaking to BBC Scotland last year, she said the cost of living crisis presented challenges because so many firms and customers had no experience of high inflation and rising lending rates.

She encouraged younger women to set up in business. Rather than taking a hammer to the glass ceiling, she calculated how much more could be gained if women reached the same level of business activity in Britain as in similar countries.

"Has there been enough progress? No," she told Douglas Fraser, BBC Scotland business and economy editor.

"We're not at parity, we're not at equality, but we are seeing more focus. The burdens and barriers are still there, but the concerted action to address some of these barriers is making a difference."

Read more about Rose here.

Let us recap what has happened in the past few hours in the City of London.

At 17:42 on Tuesday the NatWest board said it had "full confidence" in chief executive Dame Alison Rose.

That followed confirmation she was the source of an inaccurate BBC story about Nigel Farage's banking arrangements.

By 01:45 on Wednesday, the board announced Rose was stepping down.

So what changed in those eight hours?

After the board backed Rose, sources close to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and No 10 Downing Street said on Tuesday that the government had "significant concerns" over her leadership.

Within minutes of this development, Sky News reported NatWest’s board was convening an emergency meeting.

In the early hours of Wednesday, NatWest Group chairman Sir Howard Davies released a statement.

Sir Howard added that the "overall handling of the circumstances surrounding Mr Farage's accounts has been unsatisfactory, with serious consequences for the bank".

He promised to conduct an independent review that will be released to the public.

Paul Thwaite, current chief executive of NatWest's Commercial and Institutional business, will take over Rose's responsibilities for 12 months

Rose also released a statement. She thanked her colleagues “for all that they have done”.

Image source, Reuters

Hello and welcome to our live coverage as NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose steps back from her role after a row over Nigel Farage's banking arrangements.

The early-hours resignation comes after days of mounting pressure on Dame Alison over a decision to move Farage's account from the prestigious Coutts bank, owned by NatWest.

She admitted earlier in the day to being the source of an inaccurate BBC News report which stated Farage no longer met Coutts' financial requirements.

Farage obtained information from Coutts which showed his political views were also considered by bank bosses.

This story is developing overnight in the UK - we’ll be bringing you the latest updates and explaining what has happened.