Nigel Farage has claimed that British private bank Coutts closed his accounts because of concerns over his political views.
After the former Ukip and Brexit Party leader alleged earlier this month that the move was part of “the establishment” trying to force him out of the UK, the BBC reported that the reason Farage was losing his accounts was because he fell below the financial threshold required to be a customer of the bank.
Reuters reported a source familiar with the matter saying that Farage’s accounts were being closed mainly for commercial reasons.
The bank requires its customers to borrow or invest at least £1m or save at least £3m, according to an eligibility questionnaire on its website.
Now Farage says he has gained access to a 40-page report by the bank’s reputational risk committee through a subject access request.
The Telegraph reports minutes of a meeting of Coutts’ wealth reputational risk committee held on November 17 which say: “The committee did not think continuing to bank NF (Nigel Farage) was compatible with Coutts given his publicly-stated views that were at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation.
“This was not a political decision but one centred around inclusivity and purpose.”
It also says Farage is seen as “xenophobic and racist”. Farage claimed that the document shows that he was targeted “on personal and political grounds”, and notes that the word Brexit appears in the report 86 times.
He writes: “Whoever at Coutts thought it clever to feed friendly media outlets outright lies about me sorely misjudged the situation.”
HuffPost UK has not seen the documents.
A Coutts spokesperson told the Telegraph: “Our ability to respond is restricted by our obligations of client confidentiality.
“Decisions to close accounts are not taken lightly and take into account a number of factors including commercial viability, reputational considerations, and legal and regulatory requirements.”