In a stunning turn of events, the chief executive of Britain’s NatWest Bank has resigned amidst public outcry over the decision to shut off former Brexit leader Nigel Farage’s bank accounts.
The resignation comes after documents revealed that reasons for closing his accounts had nothing to do with financial issues, but were instead due to Farage’s right-wing views and support for Donald Trump.
It was announced that Alison Rose had stepped down from her role as CEO of NatWest Bank.
This came after she admitted speaking anonymously to a BBC reporter about why Farage’s accounts were closed – only for those statements to be proven false.
According to reports, Rose shared information indicating that the closures were merely “commercial” decisions rather than politically motivated ones.
This led to an uproar from both sides of the political aisle and caused further damage for NatWest in terms of its reputation and share prices on the London Stock Exchange.
While many criticized her actions, Rose issued an apology acknowledging her mistake and accepting responsibility for giving inaccurate information regarding the closures – which BBC then ran a story about earlier in July.
Despite this apology, there was still considerable pressure put on Rose by U.K.’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Treasury officials resulting in her resignation – which was described as being done “by mutual consent” between herself and NatWest officials.
In response, shares fell more than 3 percent according to The Associated Press (AP).
Documents obtained by Farage showed that Coutts’ private bank – a subsidiary of Nat West – feared possible reputational damage if they kept him as a client due to allegations claiming he was “xenophobic and racist” while also being “considered by many to be a disingenuous grifter,” reported AP news service.
In response BBC issued their own statement saying: “We acknowledge that the information we reported — that Coutts’ decision on Nigel Farage’s account did not involve considerations about his political views — turned out not be accurate.”