Reform UK leader Nigel Farage attacks ‘woke virus’ in big companies after end of NatWest debanking battle | Politics News

Nigel Farage has blamed a “woke virus” in big companies for his two-year debanking battle with NatWest.

Shortly after Sky News revealed the Reform UK leader has settled the dispute, Mr Farage said he was “caught in the crossfire” of identity politics.

City editor Mark Kleinman reported on Wednesday that a deal had been reached nearly two years after the closure of Mr Farage’s accounts, which led to the resignation of the bank’s boss.

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Nick Candy, Reform UK’s treasurer, played a key role in resolving the dispute between the two sides during six hours of mediation talks held at a London law firm on Tuesday.

Under the deal, the bank has agreed to pay Mr Farage damages, while he is understood to have withdrawn a threat of potential civil and criminal proceedings against NatWest.

Mr Farage said: “The war with NatWest is finally over. I thank my friend Nick Candy for sorting that out for me.”

The Reform UK leader refused to reveal details of the settlement or how much compensation he will receive, but reflected on the dispute when questioned about it by Sky News.

“I think a woke virus has gone through corporate America and corporate Britain,” he said. “We have firms like BP pretending they’re all about renewable energy rather than producing oil.”

‘Lunacies of DEI policy’

Mr Farage hit out at “the lunacies of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policy, of employing people on the basis of their colour, or their chosen sexuality”. “I was caught in the crossfire,” he said.

Claiming DEI was coming to an end, he added: “We’re seeing the tide turning. You know, when even Mark Zuckerberg announces that he’s axing the DEI department at Meta, you know that a big change is coming.

“And we’re moving more towards a system based on meritocracy than based on identity.”

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Although he said he was delighted his war with NatWest was over, Mr Farage criticised Conservative and Labour ministers for failing to legislate to outlaw debanking.

He said former Treasury minister Andrew Griffith, now the shadow business and trade secretary, had promised him the Conservatives would put legislation in place.

But he said that after former prime minister Rishi Sunak called a general election last year, it had not happened.

And attacking financial regulators, he said: “The Financial Conduct Authority was set up to protect people, but it hasn’t lifted a finger to stop people being de-banked.”

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Confirming the settlement to Sky News on Wednesday, Mr Farage and NatWest said in a joint statement: “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.”

Mr Farage was originally expected to seek millions of pounds from the company, alleging that the debanking row had damaged his reputation.

The furore, which claimed the scalp of NatWest’s former chief executive Dame Alison Rose in 2023, centred on whether the bank’s Coutts subsidiary closed Mr Farage’s accounts for commercial or political reasons.

NatWest initially claimed the motivation was commercial, before Mr Farage obtained internal evidence from the bank suggesting his political views had been a pivotal factor in the decision.