Policing minister says case of private bank Coutts closing Nigel Farage’s account is ‘not unique’
Many MPs or their families have been turned down by banks because of “politically exposed persons” (PEP) rules, the policing minister, Chris Philp, has said
Philp was speaking in the wake of a row over the closure of Nigel Farage’s account with the private bank Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest.
Dame Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest Group, resigned on Wednesday morning after admitting to sharing information about Nigel Farage’s bank account with the BBC.
“It is not spoken about much but if you look at almost any member of parliament they will have had an experience like this, I think the Nigel Farage case is an extreme one, but I’m afraid it’s not unique,” Philp told Sky News on Wednesday.
Asked if he had faced difficulties accessing financial services, Philp said his family had, but declined to go into detail.
A dossier obtained by Farage using a subject access request, showed the former Ukip leader’s bank account was closed after commercial considerations – wealth falling below a threshold – and concerns over his “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views”.
