EXCLUSIVE: Nigel Farage takes first legal steps in battle for compensation from Coutts as his lawyers demand meeting with NatWest bosses after he had his accounts at the bank axed
- Nigel Farage’s lawyers have called for a meeting with Coutts and NatWest
- The former Ukip leader previously said he was considering suing for defamation
Nigel Farage has taken his first legal steps in a battle for compensation from Coutts after he controversially had his accounts at the bank axed.
The arch Brexiteer and former Ukip leader admitted in an exclusive interview with MailOnline that he was demanding ‘redress’ from the bank.
His lawyers have written a ‘quite strong’ letter on his behalf to Coutts and parent company NatWest Group to demand what he describes as a ‘face-to-face meeting’ about the scandal.
Mr Farage had previously said he was considering suing Coutts for defamation over comments made about him in a report listing why bank bosses no longer wanted him as a customer.
He said: ‘There is no great secret about it. I have sent them a legal letter requesting a meeting where we can sit down face-to-face, discuss what’s gone wrong, discuss what data they continue to hold on me and to discuss how we can stop anyone else ever having to go through with this again.’
Nigel Farage (pictured) has said his lawyers have written to NatWest and Coutts to request a ‘face-to-face’ meeting
NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose (pictured) was forced to quit her job over the scandal after facing pressure from Downing Street
Asked if he was definitely suing for defamation, he told a reporter: ‘I have sent them a lawyers’ letter explaining the three things I’ve just told you.
‘I have been very reasonable and asked for a sit down face-to-face meeting to discuss the problems. You can interpret that how you like.
READ MORE: NatWest carnage as shares plunge 3% after boss Alison Rose is forced to quit over Nigel Farage ‘de-banking’ scandal – with calls for the rest of the board to go – while ministers read the riot act to other banks on ‘woke’ culture
‘I am confirming that I have sent them a lawyers’ letter and I am confirming that I am very unhappy, and certainly I want redress, and I am confirming that I want my costs paid, and I am confirming that I want a meeting and I am confirming that I want to make sure it never happens to anyone ever again. It is quite strong really you know.’
Asked to put a figure on the redress that he wanted, he said: ‘No, no, no, no. Nothing like that. I am not being aggressive about it, but there is unfinished business here.’
The former MEP confirmed that his letters had gone to both Coutts and NatWest. But when asked if there had yet been any response, he terminated the call.
Details of his legal letter emerged just days after Coutts dramatically backtracked and offered to reinstate his personal and business accounts.
Earlier he said that he wanted to find out how many other people in Coutts or NatWest have had accounts closed because of their political opinions.
NatWest has since announced it has ordered an independent review into the scandal with lawyers probing the closure of Mr Farage’s account and other instances of de-banking by Coutts.
Mr Farage, 59, announced at the weekend that the Mo Syed, the new, CEO of Coutts, had written to him to say he could keep his personal and business accounts after all.
But he claimed that the scandal about his accounts being closed had caused him ‘enormous harm’ by taking up a lot of his time and causing him to run up huge legal fees.
Coutts CEO Peter Flavel (pictured) also stood down from his position in the wake of the scandal
Internal documents obtained from Coutts described Nigel Farage as ‘xenophobic and racist’
The row began in June when he revealed his accounts at Coutts were being closed ‘without explanation’. He went on to claim that the closures were being carried out by ‘a big banking group’ in revenge over Brexit.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage blasts ‘extraordinary arrogance’ of Coutts boss who quit over ‘de-banking row’ – as ex-UKIP leader reveals Peter Flavel ignored two emails he sent him over why his account was closed
NatWest Group CEO Dame Alison Rose told a BBC journalist that Mr Farage’s accounts were being axed for commercial reasons, implying that he did not have enough money in them.
But the Brexit supremo was later presented with a dossier showing the accounts had been closed partly due to his political views.
The internal documents which were revealed after he made a subject access request labelled him as ‘xenophobic and racist’ and a potential threat to the bank’s reputation.
Dame Alison was forced to quit as a result after pressure from Downing Street when it emerged she had leaked the inaccurate story, in what was described as a major breach of client confidentiality.
Last week it was revealed that Coutts CEO Peter Flavel had also stood down ‘by mutual consent with immediate effect’ amid the fall out from the row.
The dossier which Coutts drew up on him cited Mr Farage’s retweet of a joke by comedian Ricky Gervais about trans women and his friendship with tennis player Novak Djokovic, who is opposed to Covid vaccinations.
It also repeated previous press reports, stemming from an old school friend, that a teenage Mr Farage sang ‘gas ’em all, gas ’em all’, about Jewish people, as well as reported claims by a former teacher that he ‘once marched through a Sussex village singing Hitler Youth songs’.
Coutts subsequently apologised to Mr Farage, with Dame Rose, writing to him to say that comments made in the dossier by Coutts ‘do not reflect the view of the bank’.
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