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NatWest has paid an undisclosed sum to Reform leader Nigel Farage to settle a long-running dispute with the politician over his “debanking” from its prestigious private bank Coutts.
“NatWest Group and Nigel Farage MP are pleased to confirm that they have resolved and settled their dispute and the Bank has apologised to Mr Farage. The terms of settlement are confidential,” the bank and Farage said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The settlement included damages paid to Farage, according to people familiar with the situation.
The settlement brings an end to a high-profile free speech row between the bank and the politician that erupted in July 2023 and cost former NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose her job.
Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence and Brexit parties, had threatened to take legal action against the bank, which he claimed had made defamatory statements about him.
The dispute arose after NatWest-owned Coutts cut ties with Farage. The politician claimed he had been ousted from the elite lender for his political views, a decision the lender claimed had been purely commercial.
Farage subsequently obtained internal documents from Coutts that showed its reputational risk committee had accused him of “pandering to racists” and being a “disingenuous grifter”, and said his politics were “at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation”.
The revelations led to Rose stepping down after she admitted that she had inadvertently misled a BBC journalist about the closure of Farage’s bank account.
An independent review by law firm Travers Smith later found that the decision to oust Farage as a client had been primarily commercial and therefore lawful. However, the report said the bank had failed to communicate the decision properly and then mishandled Farage’s complaint.
The settlement was first reported by Sky News.
A spokesperson for Farage said he would not be making further comment.
Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London
