Farage slams Coutts for ‘openly lying to him’ over his account being cancelled

Nigel Farage has claimed he was lied to by his bank Coutts over the reason it decided to cancel his accounts. The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader turned GB News host has exposed the way banks are closing the accounts of people and businesses with minimal warning over their political or personal views. He was already furious that Coutts had briefed his personal financial situation to the BBC and Financial Times claiming he had “fallen below the wealth threshold” and is pushing for a change in the law to protect the right to have a bank account. In Mr Farage’s case he believed he was being punished over his “politicall exposed person (PEP)” status because of an EU rule which the UK has still not removed. But according to the award winning GB News host, Coutts denied this was the case. Nigel Farage spoke exclusively on a number of issues to David Maddox (Image: Daily Express) Mr Farage told Express.co.uk: “[Coutts] have openly lied to me about my status. “I questioned them twice now about PEP status. Once I was told, ‘no, it’s just because you’re high profile’. Another time I was told, ‘no, you’re not PEP status’. “Well, I have got now the subject access requests that I’ve received from the big global ratings agencies that confirm absolutely. “I’m classed as a PEP as are family, so I don’t feel they’ve been very honest.” Since Mr Farage blew the whistle on the bank account scandal he said he has had thousands of emails from people who have been hit with the same problem. Coutts Bank is a number which appear to have gone woke (Image: Getty) Mr Farage pointed out that someone only needed to be a group leader on a council to be hit by the banks denying them an account. And while, Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle has complained about promblems he noted that most of the time the problem affected people on the right of politics. He went on : “When the EU did it, they drew no distinction between foreign and domestic PEPs. “The Government now say they’re addressing this by the middle of 2024, it will be dealt with. Well, I’m not going to hold my breath on it, but hopefully that’ll be sorted.” However, he warned that there were other problems particularly for businesses which still take cash. He warned: “Businesses in their thousands being closed. “What I can work out over the last two weeks anything from window cleaners to porn brokers. “Any business involved in taking cash. The banks don’t want to know, because they suspect these people could be engaged in money laundering.” He added: “It’s comical. It’s laughable. If you ask the banks, how many people have they called money laundering? The answer, in most cases, is zero.” He is campaigning for the right for everyone to have a bank account. He said: “What we used to have in Britain until [former Lib Dem Business Secretary] Vince Cable sold off the Post Office, and as you have in France and Germany, was the right that everybody should have to have a bank account.” “It needs to be in the modern world of basic right. “I blew the lid off something that I hope becomes a very big national campaign, and certainly the response in my favor has been overwhelming.” Mr Farage is still going through the thousands of messages he has received on the issue trying to repond to each personally.