‘Sorry Nige, you’re not coming in:’ A private bank has the right to leave Farage off its guestlist

Coutts has a right to protect itself from the reputational risk that comes with association with Nigel Farage, writes Tom Peck

Free speech does not mean freedom from the consequences of what you say (Getty)

A private bank is no different, really, to a private members club, and Nigel Farage is very upset indeed that his no longer wants him as a member.

He’s sent The Daily Telegraph a 40-page document his now former bank, Coutts, had compiled on him. It talks of him being “xenophobic and racist”, and that his “publicly stated views [are] at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation”.

Naturally, it being Nigel Farage, the world is very quickly up in arms. Coutts have been attacked by the home secretary, the business secretary and the prime minister. Nigel Farage thinks his having to bank with NatWest, like the horrid little people whose side he pretends to be on, is somehow an assault on his “free speech” and the government hasn’t wasted a second in agreeing with him.