Nigel Farage gets NatWest payout over debanking row

Telegraph

26-03-2025

NatWest has paid Nigel Farage an undisclosed sum to settle a high-profile debanking dispute after his Coutts account was closed because of his political views.
The Reform UK leader and MP, who only last month said he was considering bringing criminal proceedings against the bank, said in a joint statement with NatWest that the issue was 'resolved and settled' and that the bank had apologised.
Nick Candy, the billionaire property tycoon who last year renounced his Conservative Party membership to become Reform's treasurer, played a central role in resolving the row, according to sources. Mr Farage and Mr Candy use the same law firm, Mayfair-based Grosvenor Law.
Mr Farage's settlement ends the long-running saga which erupted in 2023 and led to a national scandal over debanking.
NatWest, which owns Coutts, initially claimed Mr Farage's account had been closed for commercial reasons but it was later revealed comments in support of Donald Trump and what Coutts claimed were 'xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views' had been a factor in the decision. Mr Farage said the claims were an 'appalling slur'
Internal messages handed over to Mr Farage by NatWest later that year also showed that staff referred to him as a 'crackpot' and an 'awful human being', while one said: 'The money I'd have paid to have been the agent ringing him to tell him [that he had been debanked].' A dossier held on Mr Farage by NatWest ran to thousands of pages.
The fiasco led to the exit of NatWest's former chief executive Dame Alison Rose, who at the time was the most senior woman in UK banking.
Dame Alison had admitted to being the source of an inaccurate BBC story that claimed Mr Farage's accounts were shut for not holding enough money. She admitted a 'serious error of judgement' in speaking to the journalist at a charity dinner about the matter.
'Establishment stitch-up'
A report by law firm Travers Smith subsequently found that although Natwest acted within the law in closing Mr Farage's account there had been 'serious failings' over the incident.
The saga, which led Mr Farage to claim that he was the victim of an 'establishment stitch-up', triggered a major political firestorm.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a review into how banks treated politicians amid claims some have struggled to open accounts, as well as a review into the scale of the general debanking problem.
Although it found that most cases of debanking were because of fraud or sanction risks, the treatment of customers came under scrutiny.
The Treasury last year put forward fresh legislation to force banks to give customers three months' notice and a detailed explanation if they wish to close their accounts.
Mr Farage has been left angry about the debacle ever since, last year arguing that 'there has been no change of culture at the bank whatsoever.
He said: 'They are paying out £350 million in bonuses to the same people who abused me. I am left feeling that my efforts with this organisation have been in vain.'
It is not known how much he has now settled for, although Sky News said he was originally expected to seek millions of pounds from the company due to alleged damage to reputation.
Sky News also reported that Mr Farage has withdrawn the threat of potential civil and criminal proceedings against Natwest over the issue as a result of the settlement.