Coutts closed Nigel Farage’s accounts because his views did not ‘align with its purpose and values’, internal documents revealed last night.
The former Ukip leader said the 40-page dossier detailing the bank’s discussions about him showed it was lying about the reason he was dropped.
Coutts, whose clients include members of the Royal Family, claimed the leading Brexiteer had not met the multi-million pound savings threshold for customers. But the documents obtained by Mr Farage revealed the 331-year-old bank’s ‘wealth reputational risk committee’ decided to ‘exit’ him after considering his comments on Brexit and his links to Donald Trump and Novak Djokovic.
The officials noted that closing his accounts could not be justified on the basis of his wealth as his ‘economic contribution’ was ‘sufficient to retain on a commercial basis’.
The dossier also referred to accusations made by Labour MP Chris Bryant under parliamentary privilege that Mr Farage was paid more than £500,000 by the Russian state – a claim he vehemently denies.
Mr Farage said last night: ‘This document is astonishing, it’s abusive and it makes a whole series of wildly false statements about Russia while acknowledging I have not been convicted of anything.’
He disclosed last month Coutts had informed him of its decision to close down his account, branding the move ‘political persecution’. Other customers who claimed to have been abandoned by lenders due to their political views also came forward.
They included a priest who said his account was shut because he complained about his building society’s messages during Pride month.
The BBC went on to report, citing ‘people familiar with Coutts’s move’, that it was a ‘commercial’ decision to shut Mr Farage’s accounts as they fell below the financial threshold required by the bank.
But in a video broadcast posted to his Twitter followers last night, Mr Farage said this was not the case and that he was ‘pretty blooming angry’ about it.
Read More: Top bank ‘lied’ over Nigel Farage ban
