In PMQ's the issue of if Farage should be discriminated against came up. It has transpired that the bank he was with decided not to allow him to bank with them because they felt that he had a different view to him. That would be acceptable, if they did this all the time, but they do not.
An internal report, prepared for the Coutts risk committee, had described Farage as a “disingenuous grifter” who promotes “xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views” and while Farage had described the dossier as a “prejudiced, nasty document” the report is right.
The issue that I am concerned about, is if it is right to deny Farage the right to bank, what about other people and also other organisations? Would it be right to deny banking services to Just Stop Oil, an organisation I agree with (in part)?
I have no issues with a bank trying to be ethical, so long as it tries more often than Coutts has in this situation. Well, I do have issues, but I would accept them more if the policy was one that is open and transparent. Nigel Farage has just as much right to have a bank account as Gerry Adams does and a bank changing rules to discriminate against him is just as wrong as it would be for a bank to discriminate against Just Stop Oil.
