Another feather in Nigel Farage’s cap came when he successfully compelled the BBC to apologise for its “incomplete and inaccurate” reporting on the reasons for his debanking by Coutts.
On Monday, BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and Business Editor Simon Jack both apologised to Nigel Farage for a piece quoting an unidentified Coutts bank source who purportedly said that the Brexiteer had lost his account after falling below the bank’s financial threshold.
However, according to a subject access report received by Mr Farage, the bank created a 40-page dossier outlining how his political views and ties with persons such as former President Donald Trump did not “align with our values.”
In her apology to Farage, BBC News CEO Deborah Turness said: “I have reviewed what happened since we received your letter on Saturday. It’s clear that the story we originally published, based on information provided by our source, turned out to be inaccurate.
“While our teams took the correct steps in rectifying this on-air and on our Corrections and Clarifications page, I can understand why you feel this story has contributed to you being put through a considerable and humiliating amount of publicity.
“I would therefore like to apologise to you on behalf of BBC News.”
For his part, BBC Business Editor Simon Jack said on social media: “The information on which we based our reporting on Nigel Farage and his bank accounts came from a trusted and senior source. However, the information turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate. Therefore I would like to apologise to Mr Farage.”
Neither Jack nor Turness revealed the name of the “senior source” cited in the original article, yet it has been reported that Mr Jack had sat next to Dame Alison Rose at a charity dinner the evening before it was published. Dame Alison currently serves as the CEO of NatWest banking group, which owns the Coutts bank that dropped Mr Farage as a customer.
On his prime time GB News programme on Monday evening, Farage thanked both BBC representatives for their apologies, saying: “I know some will say it took too long but thank you, a fulsome apology from the BBC is not something that happens very often I’m delighted to get it.”
“The BBC have apologized, they are now out of it,” he said. “Which points the finger back to Coutts and the NatWest banking group.”
Mr Farage filed a formal complaint against the banking company with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) last week. The ICO is a regulator with the authority to penalise financial firms up to £17.5 million or 4% of their international income, whichever is greater.
The Conservative government of Rishi Sunak has been unusually aggressive in pushing back against the banks over the Farage controversy, which has come as a surprise. On Monday, City Minister Andrew Griffith reportedly summoned the heads of the country’s largest lenders to discuss how to implement safeguards against people being debanked for their political beliefs, stating that the government will “take all action necessary” to punish banks that continue the practise.