LAST UPDATE | 26 Jul 2023

NIGEL FARAGE HAS called for a wider shake-up of the NatWest board, following the resignation of Alison Rose after days of pressure on the banking group’s leadership.

Rose resigned from her position after admitting that she had made a “serious error of judgment” when she discussed Farage’s relationship with private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, with a BBC journalist.

In a statement released early this morning, NatWest Group chairman Howard Davies said: “The Board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group. It is a sad moment.

“She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her.”

In a statement of her own, Rose thanked her colleagues “for all that they have done”, adding: “I remain immensely proud of the progress the bank has made in supporting people, families and business across the UK, and building the foundations for sustainable growth.”

Davies initially said the board members had decided the chief executive retained their “full confidence” but her position became ever more uncertain after the UK Chancellor and Downing Street were said to have “serious concerns” over her conduct.

The former Ukip leader welcomed the exit of Rose as “a start”, but said that changes needed to go further.

“Anybody on that Board that backed that statement that was put out at 5.42pm yesterday, a totally unsustainable and untrue statement, anybody that backed that behaviour, should be gone,” he told PA news agency.

Farage called for a “cultural change” at the bank and within the wider industry, as he promised to continue to campaign on account closures.

He said that what was needed was a “cultural change within NatWest, they ought to go back to being a bank, rather than being a moral arbiter for political positions”.

He added: “But I think this culture runs deep through the entire banking industry. I think there is a massive anti-Brexit prejudice and I think the whole thing needs to change.”

An emergency board meeting was called late on Tuesday night to determine her future, with the announcement of her resignation coming a few hours later.

Former NatWest chief executive officer Alison Rose. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Last week, Farage presented evidence, in the form of a 40-page dossier, that his account at Coutts had been closed partly due to his political views conflicting with the bank’s values.

The evidence obtained from the bank through a data request contradicted a BBC News story, which initially claimed that the account closure was motivated by commercial reasons only, citing Farage’s failure to meet a £1 million borrowing requirement.

The BBC and its business editor Simon Jack apologised, saying the reporting had been based on information from a “trusted and senior source” but “turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate”.

In a statement, released alongside Davies on Tuesday evening, Rose said: “I recognise that in my conversations with Simon Jack of the BBC, I made a serious error of judgment in discussing Farage’s relationship with the bank.

“Believing it was public knowledge, I confirmed that Mr Farage was a Coutts customer and that he had been offered a NatWest bank account.

“Alongside this, I repeated what Mr Farage had already stated, that the bank saw this as a commercial decision. I would like to emphasise that in responding to Mr Jack’s questions I did not reveal any personal financial information about Mr Farage.

“In response to a general question about eligibility criteria required to bank with Coutts and NatWest I said that guidance on both was publicly available on their websites. In doing so, I recognise that I left Mr Jack with the impression that the decision to close Mr Farage’s accounts was solely a commercial one.”

Davies said the “overall handling of the circumstances surrounding Mr Farage’s accounts has been unsatisfactory, with serious consequences for the bank”, before promising an independent review, which will be made public.

Sheldon Mills, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) executive director for consumers and competition, said it had raised concerns about breaches of confidentiality by Coutts and its parent company NatWest.

He also emphasised the importance of a “well-resourced” independent review to investigate the matter “swiftly” and “fully”, adding: “On the basis of the review and any steps taken by other authorities, such as the Financial Ombudsman Service or Information Commissioner, on relevant complaints, we will decide if any further action is necessary.”

Speaking on his GB News show, Farage accused Rose of breaching the FCA’s conduct rules, adding: “I think there has been complete failure in this regard.”

The ex-MEP turned broadcaster went on: “It is perfectly clear to me that Peter Flavel, the CEO of Coutts, has not done his job at all.

“It is perfectly clear to me that Alison Rose is unfit to be the CEO of a big group and that Howard Davies, who is supposed to be in charge of governance, has failed as well.

“Given that we have a 39% stake in this – we, the great British public – I think at that investor statement on Friday morning, the Government ought to say we have no confidence in this management. Frankly, I think they should all go and that is my conclusion from what we’ve learned this afternoon.”

The UK taxpayer’s stake in the company has gradually reduced over time due to several share sales by the British Government, with the latest bringing its ownership down to 38.6%.

A string of Tory MPs, including former cabinet minister David Davis and Saqib Bhatti, the Conservative Party’s vice-chairman for business, had also called for Rose’s resignation.

NatWest’s board of directors announced that Paul Thwaite, the current chief executive of the company’s Commercial and Institutional business, will take over Rose’s responsibilities for an initial period of 12 months, pending regulatory approval.

The board said in a statement that a further process to appoint a permanent successor will take place “in due course”.

Rose, a member of the Prime Minister’s business council, had been expected to join other banking bosses at a virtual meeting with City minister Andrew Griffith this morning to discuss concerns related to customers’ “lawful freedom of expression”.

A No 10 source said Rishi Sunak “was concerned about the unfolding situation. Alison Rose has done the right thing in resigning”.

The source said: “Everyone would expect people in public life – whether that’s in a business leadership role or otherwise – to act responsibly and with integrity.”

Griffith also said it was “right” that Rose had stepped down.

He said: “This would never have happened if NatWest had not taken it upon itself to withdraw a bank account due to someone’s lawful political views. That was and is always unacceptable.

“I hope the whole financial sector learns from this incident. Its role is to serve customers well and fairly – not to tell them how or what to think.”

Farage said that the “next step” is to support the changes introduced by Griffith.

He said: “He has been very clear in his statement this morning that banks should not be closing people down on the basis of their opinions.

“But the entire industry needs to wake up to the absolutely appalling way it has been treating people all over the country.

“We bailed these people out and in return they close our branches, they close our personal and business accounts on a huge scale. We need real change here and I am going to go on pushing for it.”