- Former Ukip leader told by his bank his accounts will be shut down this summer
- Sources close to Mr Farage, 59, believe MI5 may have intervened in the closure
Nigel Farage fears MI5 could be behind the closure of his bank accounts, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The former Ukip leader has said he may be forced to leave Britain after he was told by his bank that his personal and business accounts will be shut down this summer.
Sources close to Mr Farage, 59, believe MI5 may have intervened after Labour MP Chris Bryant wrongly alleged in the House of Commons that he received more than half a million pounds from pro-Kremlin broadcaster Russia Today in 2018. The claim has been categorically denied by Mr Farage.
Friends of Mr Farage also believe he may also have been targeted because of his friendship with former President Donald Trump.
No detailed explanation was given by the bank, understood to be 327-year-old private bank Coutts. Seven other banks turned Mr Farage down when he applied to transfer his accounts to them, it is claimed.
It emerged this weekend that three members of Mr Farage’s immediate family have also recently had their accounts closed by UK banks.
Meanwhile, two former Brexit Party MEPs also revealed their accounts had been shut down without explanation.
Christina Jordan, an MEP from 2019 to 2020, was informed in April 2020 by Nationwide that four accounts used by her and her family were being closed.
She was later told that the reason for the decision was ‘business sensitive’.
Former MEP Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen had his Metro Bank account closed in 2020. The following year Metro Bank also closed down several accounts used by Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice said: ‘If you want democracies to work then smaller political parties should be able to have a bank account.’
Metro Bank said: ‘The decision to close any account is made for commercial reasons only. Metro Bank is and will remain politically neutral.’
Coutts, which is part of the NatWest Group, did not respond to a request for comment.
Nationwide said that like all UK financial institutions it ‘uses current regulations and industry guidance to establish its Politically Exposed Person policy’.
Last year, PayPal froze three accounts run by Toby Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union. The company later reinstated the accounts after it was accused by MPs of imposing a ‘politically motivated’ ban.
A Whitehall source said ‘there does not appear to be a basis’ for a claim of MI5 involvement.
