Nigel Farage receives apology from BBC over Coutts account closure reporting

The BBC has apologised to Nigel Farage for suggesting he lacked the funds needed to hold an account at Coutts after the private bank cut ties with the former Ukip leader.

The BBC’s business editor Simon Jack made the apology after a story published by the corporation suggested Mr Farage had his account shut for “falling below” the private bank’s wealth limit.

Mr Farage later acquired dossiers indicating his account was shut by Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, because it had found his public statements did “not align” with its values.

The original story was updated last Friday, with the BBC acknowledging “that the information we reported – that Coutts’ decision on Nigel Farage’s account did not involve considerations about his political views – turned out not to be accurate”.

It told readers that the headline and article had been updated to reflect the fact that the “closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account came from a source”.

On Monday, Mr Jack tweeted: “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.”

In a statement, the broadcaster said: “We have since changed the headline and the copy on the original online article about his bank account being shut for falling below the wealth limit to reflect that the claim came from a source and added an update to recognise the story had changed.

“We acknowledge that the information we reported – that Coutts’ decision on Mr Farage’s account did not involve considerations about his political views – turned out not to be accurate and have apologised to Mr Farage.”

The former Brexit Party leader said he had received a letter from BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness, and added that he accepted the corporation’s apology.

Mr Farage shared the apology on his GB News programme.

In it, Ms Turness apologised to him on behalf of BBC News.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

She said that as part of the reporting process, the BBC “went back to the source to check they were happy for us to publish the information. They said they were”.

Mr Farage had earlier told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that the focus should return to NatWest and there was “no fault or no blame on the BBC”.

“If a very senior source gives you a good story, of course you run it. There’s no question about that,” he said.

“It’s just that I had to go to very great lengths and great personal damage to undo the story.

“Some will say the BBC could have acted more quickly but there’s no fault or blame.

“This now goes right back to the NatWest banking group. Somebody in that group decided that it was appropriate, ethical and legal to leak details of my personal financial situation.

“That, I think, is wrong at every level and that’s where the spotlight should be now, and it will.”

It comes as City minister Andrew Griffith summoned bank chiefs for a meeting to discuss how customers can be protected from “being de-banked”.

His letter to lenders is the latest Treasury response to the Coutts row, after ministers last week announced reforms to give customers greater protections against having accounts closed.

The closure of Mr Farage’s accounts sparked outrage among senior Tory MPs who piled pressure on Coutts and NatWest.

It saw NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose apologise for “deeply inappropriate comments” about him in official papers.

Coutts, the 17th-century bank which closed Mr Farage’s account earlier this year, cited Mr Farage’s retweet of a Ricky Gervais joke about trans women and his friendship with tennis player Novak Djokovic, who is opposed to Covid vaccinations, to flag concerns that he is “xenophobic and racist”, in documents seen by MailOnline.

Mr Griffith told banks that, while the reforms have yet to be enacted legally, the Government “expects” that “firms should seek to take action on this policy as soon as possible and make best endeavours to implement”.

New measures include making banks explain why they are shutting an account, which was not previously required.

The notice period for a forced account closure will be extended from 30 days to 90 days.

The Government said the extension should give customers more time to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service or find a replacement bank.