Days after Brexiteer Nigel Farage told the world about his experience of having his bank accounts abruptly closed by a major banking group, without a valid reason provided, The FT reports that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the government will take action over banks blacklisting customers who hold controversial views.
As we detailed at the time, Farage claimed that:
“The establishment are trying to force me out of the UK by closing my bank accounts,” adding, "this is serious political persecution at the very highest level of our system.”
And he cited 3 potential reasons for his apparent blanket ban...
the EU's definition of a politically exposed person (PEP),
prejudice from corporate institutions, and
false allegations made by a member of Parliament regarding funds from the Russian government.
Warning that anyone in Britain could be next, Farage told The Mail this week:
"The banking industry in the UK has become politicised. We are going down a road where anybody in Britain could say something on Facebook or Twitter that a bank doesn’t like and lose their accounts."
In response, Chancellor Hunt has asked City minister Andrew Griffith to investigate the practice of lenders closing down the accounts of individuals or companies whose views they disagree with.
“Banks and payment providers occupy a privileged place in society and it would be a concern if financial services were being denied to those exercising the right to lawful free speech,” Griffith told the Financial Times.
The Treasury opened a consultation into the matter earlier this year after rightwing commentator and journalist Toby Young complained that the Free Speech Union group he founded had its PayPal account frozen last September.
PayPal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rather notably - given Farage's comments - ministers also want to reform the regime monitoring “politically exposed persons” (PEPs) to ensure it has not been applied too heavily.
Politicians classified as a PEP are subject to tighter controls by banks to guarantee they comply with the law.
Finally, as we noted at the time of Farage's comments, if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone with a 'view' that is not 'acceptable'. As he concluded:
"I'm beginning to think that perhaps life in the United Kingdom is now becoming completely unlivable because of the levels of prejudice against me."
We wonder just how much of this 'shock, horror' from the establishment that 'deplatforming' of people like Farage is going?
Nevertheless, British PM Sunak's official spokesman said today:
"As you've seen from over the weekend, the Chancellor is concerned by some of the reports. Free speech within the law and the legitimate expression of differing views is an important part of British liberty."
"The Treasury is running a call for evidence already to assess if the current framework strikes the right balance between the rights of a bank customer to express themselves freely and the right of a bank to manage commercial risk. They're going to report back soon."
The results of a government consultation on the subject is due to be published in the coming weeks... and then we will see if this is all just bluster.
A Treasury source told the Daily Telegraph: "It is absolutely a concern. No one should have their bank account denied on the grounds of freedom of expression. We expect to take action on this issue within weeks."
