Nigel Farage: «… the BBC is not only content with publishing misleading information and lies, but also has the cultural problem of apologizing for its mistakes.» Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
Nigel Farage writes BBC chief demanding official apology for inaccurate report of Coutts shutting down his bank account.
The former Ukip leader told BBC CEO Tim Davy that he was subjected to «humiliating» publicity as a result of the corporation's history.
Separately, Mr Farage's lawyers wrote to the Information Commissioner asking for an investigation into the disclosure of his financial dealings to the BBC.
At the end of June, Mr Farage revealed that his account had been closed by a 330-year-old bank and said he believed it was due to his political views.
Six days later, the BBC published a report by its business editor, Simon Jack, citing people «familiar» with the situation, saying it was a «commercial decision» as he fell below the financial threshold to have an account.
, chief executive of Natwest, who owned by Coutts, was forced to apologize to Mr. Farage. Photo: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
But when The Telegraph reported that he had indeed been partially closed because his political views were deemed not «in line» with those of the bank despite being commercially viable, Dame Alison Rose, chief executive of Natwest, which owns Coutts, was forced to apologize to Mr. Farage. that «turned out to be inaccurate.»
However, Mr. Farage wants the corporation to go further. In a letter sent to Mr Davy and seen by The Telegraph, he said: «Over the past few days I have been subjected to significant and humiliating publicity as a result of inaccurate BBC reporting.»
«There is no financial minimum»
He said that when Mr. what a financial minimum», but «Mr. Jack continued to report this material, no matter what.»
< p>Mr Farage said the BBC story was widely accepted «as fact, leading many to say that my previous comments about my being bankrupted for political reasons were pure fantasy.»
To «counter misreporting», he had to publish a subject access request he sent to Coutts, which «contained very obnoxious and defamatory material about me», causing «further reputational damage to protect himself».
The decision to change the BBC story was «too late», he said, adding: «How does anything from this saga live up to the supposedly high editorial standards of the BBC?»Mr Farage said one of his lawyers had contacted Rick Bailey, the BBC's chief political adviser, to request a «formal apology» but was informed that «no apology would be forthcoming at this stage». “This, in my opinion, shows that the BBC is not only content with publishing misleading information and untruths, but also has cultural issues with apologizing for its mistakes,” he said. «This is unacceptable to me and no doubt to the general public.»
«At least the BBC can do»
Referring to the apology he received from former BBC correspondent John Sopel, who shared the BBC's story and called Mr Farage «a little Charlie», Mr Farage said: «I think the least the BBC can do is apologize to me, as did Dame Alison Rose, John Sopel, and others.» ary to the Treasury, will write to banks, instructing them to take part in a roundtable to discuss how “customers can access payment accounts without fear of debanking for their legitimate expression.”
Mr Griffith said that “when institutions providing essential services … punish people for their political views, they threaten our very democratic system.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We acknowledge that we have received a letter and a response them in due course. In the meantime, we have updated our website with corrections and clarifications to reflect the reporting of this story.»
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