The Nigel Farage bank saga continued to rumble on this week as the bosses of NatWest and Coutts both formally resigned.
The former UKIPer sparked a row over the current UK banking rules after he said his account with the private bank was shut because it disagreed with his political views.
Ministers, politicians and banking experts have weighed in on the debate, which brought to light difficult questions about freedom of expression.
It resulted in the Treasury introducing new rules for banks and emphasising that their role is to “serve customers well and fairly – not to tell them how or what to think”.
The row also culminated in the resignation of Dame Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest Group, which owns Coutts, and Peter Flavel, who stepped down with immediate effect yesterday.
Concerns over bank accounts being closed due to customers’ political views have been aired in the wake of the dispute, but the reality, in this case, is that it was nothing more than a matter between Coutts and Farage, who no longer met financial thresholds after he finished paying off his mortgage.
Speaking on The News Agents, Emily Maitlis says the saga demonstrates how to effectively whip up a social media storm more than anything else.
Watch her comments in full below:
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