A senior BBC journalist has apologised to Nigel Farage for suggesting he lacked the funds needed to hold an account at Coutts after the private bank cut ties with the former Ukip leader.
The BBC’s business editor Simon Jack made the apology after a story published by the corporation suggested Mr Farage had his account shut for “falling below” the private bank’s wealth limit.
Mr Farage later acquired dossiers indicating his account was shut by Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, because it had found his public statements did “not align” with its values.
The information on which we based our reporting on Nigel Farage and his bank accounts came from a trusted and senior source. However the information turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate. Therefore I would like to apologise to Mr Farage.
— Simon Jack (@BBCSimonJack) July 24, 2023
The original story was updated last Friday, with the BBC acknowledging “that the information we reported – that Coutts’ decision on Nigel Farage’s account did not involve considerations about his political views – turned out not to be accurate”.
It told readers that the headline and article had been updated to reflect the fact that the “closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account came from a source”.
On Monday, Mr Jack tweeted: “The information on which we based our reporting on Nigel Farage and his bank accounts came from a trusted and senior source.
“However, the information turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate. Therefore I would like to apologise to Mr Farage.”
It comes as City minister Andrew Griffith summoned bank chiefs for a meeting to discuss how customers can be protected from “being de-banked”.
