Farage writes letter demanding apology from BBC over ‘humiliating’ bank story
Nigel Farage accuses Coutts of lying over bank closure
Nigel Farage has written to the head of the BBC demanding a formal apology over its reporting on his Coutts bank account being shut.
In his letter to director-general Tim Davie, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader said he had faced “humiliating” publicity due to the corporation’s article.
The BBC earlier this month reported that Mr Farage fell below the financial threshold required at the prestigious private bank, which is owned by NatWest.
It cited a source as saying the move to close his account was a “commercial” decision rather than political reasons as he was claiming.
But Mr Farage this week obtained a report from Coutts which said his views “do not align with our values”.
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READ MORE: Nigel Farage lodges formal complaint after accusing NatWest of passing his data
The BBC has since published an update to the original story by business editor Simon Jack, admitting it “turned out not to be accurate”.
But Mr Farage is demanding that the corporation goes further and issues a formal apology.
In a letter to Mr Davie, seen by The Telegraph, he said: “Over the last few days, I have been put through a considerable and humiliating amount of publicity as a result of inaccurate BBC reporting.”
He said the BBC’s article was widely accepted as fact which prompted “many to say that my previous comments about being de-banked for political reasons were pure fantasy”.
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Mr Farage said to counter the reporting he was forced to publish the subject access request he submitted to Coutts.
He added that the bombshell 40-page document “contained highly unpleasant and defamatory material about me” causing “further reputational damage in order to defend myself”.
He questioned how the original reporting met the Beeb’s “supposedly high” editorial standards and blasted the move to amend the story as “too little too late”.
He referred to an apology he received from the boss of NatWest Group Dame Alison Rose and former BBC journalist Jon Sopel, who shared the original story and said he must feel like “a bit of a Charlie”.
Mr Farage said: “I think that the very least that the BBC can do is to apologise to me, as Dame Alison Rose, Jon Sopel and others have done.”
The GB News presenter has also lodged a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office about the sharing of his financial details with the Beeb.
A BBC spokesman said: “We confirm that we have received the letter, and we shall respond in due course.
“In the meantime, we have updated our corrections and clarifications website to reflect reporting on this story.”
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