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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Ben Quinn Political Correspondent

Nigel Farage lobbied senior Tory minister over NatWest complaint

Nigel Farage Andrew Griffith NatWest Emily Thornberry Coutts WhatsApp
Nigel Farage
The Treasury confirmed that a telephone conversation took place between Farage and the minister, with a civil servant present. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Nigel Farage privately lobbied a senior Tory treasury minister for help with his de-banking complaint against NatWest, asking him for advice “before I go public”.

WhatsApp messages shared with the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act show the former Brexit party leader contacted Andrew Griffith, then economic secretary to the Treasury, to discuss allegations that Coutts, NatWest’s private bank subsidiary, had closed his accounts because of his politics.

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