THE “woke” boss of Natwest has sensationally confessed to being the source behind a false story about Nigel Farage.
But the bank’s board insisted they still had “full confidence” in Dame Alison Rose despite her “unsatisfactory” role in the affair.
Natwest bank chief executive officer, Alison Rose, sensationally confessed she was the source behind a false story about Nigel Farage
The Brexiteer has threatened to sue Natwest after his account with luxury offshoot Coutts was closed last month.
BBC Business Editor Simon Jack apologised on Monday after admitting his story that Farage had been kicked out for not having enough cash was false.
The former Ukip boss later proved his account was shut due to his political views that clashed with the “inclusive” culture fostered at the high-net worth bank.
It was reported Mr Jack had sat next to Dame Alison at a dinner the evening before running the incorrect claims, citing a “senior source” at the bank.
But this evening Dame Alison said: “I recognise that in my conversations with Simon Jack of the BBC, I made a serious error of judgment in discussing Mr Farage’s relationship with the bank. “
She continued: “I want to address the questions that have been raised and set out the substance of the conversations that took place.
“Believing it was public knowledge, I confirmed that Mr Farage was a Coutts customer and that he had been offered a NatWest bank account.
“Alongside this, I repeated what Mr Farage had already stated, that the bank saw this as a commercial decision. I would like to emphasise that in responding to Mr Jack’s questions I did not reveal any personal financial information about Mr Farage.
“I was not part of the decision-making process to exit Mr Farage. This decision was made by Coutts, and I was informed in April that this was for commercial reasons. At the time of my conversations with Mr Jack, I was not in receipt of the contents of the Coutts Wealth Reputational Risk Committee materials subsequently released by Mr Farage.
“I have apologised to Mr Farage for the deeply inappropriate language contained in those papers and the Board has commissioned a full independent review into the decision and process to ensure that this cannot happen again.
“Put simply, I was wrong to respond to any question raised by the BBC about this case. I want to extend my sincere apologies to Mr Farage for the personal hurt this has caused him and I have written to him today.”
Conservative Party vice chair for business Saqib Bhatti MP told HOAR last night: “It’s shocking to hear that Dame Alison Rose has admitted being the source of the leak of Mr Farage’s bank details.
“While it’s not for politicians to determine what the company should do her position would appear to now be untenable.”
Natwest Chairman Howard Davies last night launched an independent review of the saga.
The Financial Conduct Authority said they would await it’s findings before deciding whether to launch their own probe.
Sir Howard said: “The Board has noted Alison Rose’s statement on the circumstances of her conversation with Simon Jack and her further apology to Mr Farage.
“As she recognises, she should not have spoken in the way she did. This was a regrettable error of judgement on her part. The events will be taken into account in decisions on remuneration at the appropriate time.
“However, after careful reflection the Board has concluded that it retains full confidence in Ms Rose as CEO of the bank.
“The Board is clear that the overall handling of the circumstances surrounding Mr Farage accounts has been unsatisfactory, with serious consequences for the bank. The Board will commission an independent review into the account closure arrangement at Coutts, and the lessons to be learnt from this.
“The findings of that review will be made public on completion. The Terms of Reference and lead firm will be announced shortly.”
