Jeremy Clarkson has claimed banks are giving way to “woke warriors” after it emerged bank Coutts closed Nigel Farage’s account due to his political views.
The former UKIP leader called for a Treasury Select Committee inquiry into NatWest after it emerged the bank had closed his account due to the “reputational” risks of being associated with him.
The bank initially insisted his account had been closed because his finance did not reach their threshold, adding it did not close accounts “solely on the basis of legally held political and personal views”.
But a 40-page dossier on the information they had gathered about Mr Farage to justify the closure revealed that their conclusion was that his views were “at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation”.
Weighing in on the controversy, Mr Clarkson wrote for the Sun: “Bosses have their hands tied by weepy woke warriors who wield enormous power because they can play the offended card.”
Declaring himself a “still small voice of calm and reason,” the former Top Gear presenter wrote: “They can’t be sacked and they can’t be ignored.
“They have to be given a nice cup of fair trade, nuclear-free, peace coffee made with milk from a nut and told that their ridiculous demands will be met.
“Because if they aren’t, the spotty little ignoramus will go on social media and say ‘they’ are working for fascists.”
He gave a hypothetical example of a 16-year-old new employee at a bank and suggested that if they made a single complaint about someone associated with the company, the bank’s HR department would be forced to recommend that person be ejected.
While the 40-page dossier reveals that Coutts did close Mr Farage’s account on the basis of his political views, there is no suggestion this was the result of an internal complaint as Mr Clarkson suggests.
Chief executive officer of NatWest, Alison Rose, wrote to Mr Farage offering him an apology saying “deeply inappropriate comments” were made in the document which “did not reflect the view of the bank”.
She added: “I believe very strongly that freedom of expression and access to banking are fundamental to our society and it is absolutely not our policy to exit a customer on the basis of legally held political and personal views.”
The BBC was forced to amend an article claiming the accounts were closed because Mr Farage could not meet the wealth limit.
The broadcaster published the article with the headline “Nigel Farage bank account shut for falling below wealth limit,” which has now been amended.
