Nigel Farage says Coutts has offered to reinstate his bank accounts | Politics News

Nigel Farage has said Coutts has offered to reinstate his personal and business accounts.

The former Ukip leader said he was seeking compensation from the private bank.

Mr Farage said “the fight goes on” as he outlined his desire for a face-to-face meeting with the bank’s bosses in a bid to understand how many other people had been affected by account closures.

The former MEP claimed his bank account was unfairly shut down by Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, because it did not agree with his political views.

NatWest has since announced an independent review, with lawyers probing the closure of Mr Farage’s account and other instances of de-banking by Coutts.

Speaking on his GB News programme, Mr Farage said: “The new chief executive of Coutts, Mo Syed, somebody who has held very senior positions within that bank, is now the boss and he has written to me to say I can keep both my personal and my business accounts.

“And that’s good and I thank him for it.”

Coutts has not publicly confirmed that Mr Syed is the new chief executive.

But Mr Farage said “enormous harm” has been done to him in the last few months.

Read more:
Key points from Coutts dossier on Farage
What are PEPs and can banks close their accounts?

Farage seeks compensation

Mr Farage added: “It has taken up a huge amount of my time and it has cost me, so far, quite a lot of money in legal fees so I have today sent a legal litigation letter to Coutts where I want some full apologies, I want some compensation for my costs, but – more important than all of that – I want a face-to-face meeting with the bank’s bosses.

“I want to find out how many other people in Coutts or NatWest have had accounts closed because of their political opinions, and I want to make sure this never happens to anybody else ever again.

“So the fight goes on.”

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

Former Ukip leader campaigns to tackle account closures

The media storm around Mr Farage’s account closure led to the resignation of NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose after she admitted being the source behind an incorrect BBC story about Mr Farage’s Coutts account, followed by Coutts boss Peter Flavel.

Mr Farage has launched a campaign to tackle account closures, which has received support from ministers and Tory MPs.