Queen Elizabeth would have been “appalled” by how her bank has treated Nigel Farage, former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole said.

And he claimed Coutts was behaving like the notorious Stasi East German secret police for cancelling the former Ukip leader because his views did not “align” with its values.

A decade ago respected journalist Mr Cole “sacked” the NatWest-owned bank after 41 years, fearing it was pursuing pop stars instead of “old money”.

Mr Cole joins a growing chorus of Coutts critics, including the PM Rishi Sunak, after it was revealed the bank unceremoniously dumped Mr Farage. Initially it was reported the Brexit champion did not have enough funds to retain an account with the bank, which is partly owned by taxpayers.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson claims banks bowing to ‘woke warriors’ after Farage scandal

But an internal report obtained by Mr Farage, top left, revealed the true reason. It referred to him as a “disingenuous grifter” whose views could be regarded as “xenophobic and racist”.

This has led to ministers considering laws to revoke a bank’s licences if it closes accounts because it disagrees with a customer’s political opinions.

On Thursday, NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose issued an apology for the “deeply inappropriate” report and insisted the assessment of Mr Farage, left, “does not reflect the views of the bank”.

Speaking of how he ditched Coutts after the 2008 financial crisis when NatWest was bailed out by the Government, Mr Cole said: “It was a hard decision, but I had to leave.”

He went on: “It’s much worse now to see what was ‘my’ bank behaving like the Stasi, cancelling customers whose views and beliefs it does not like.

“The late Queen would be appalled to know her bank was discriminating against customers in good standing, without even informing them what was going on and why.

“It is simply un-British.”

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Ex-minister claims she was refused account

A former government minister has revealed she “suspects” she was denied a bank account because of her political views.

Susan Kramer, a senior banker herself before entering politics, believes she may have been treated in a similar way to Nigel Farage.

Baroness Kramer says online bank Chase UK, owned by US-based financial giant JP Morgan, refused to let her open an account after she was unable to provide payslips from her late husband.

The alleged demand was supposedly linked to rules designed to detect money laundering.

But she told the House of Lords: “That had to be a specious reason, and I suspect the real reason is I am a Liberal Democrat who speaks out on issues in a way that the bank does not particularly like.”

She added: “I am just outraged Nigel Farage was denied a bank account.”

Baroness Kramer, right, was MP for Richmond Park before entering the Lords.

A former vice-President of Citibank, she has criticised the banking sector and blamed “irresponsible management”
for the 2007 crash.

Chase UK said it would not respond to her comments. It also said it does not decline customers based on their political views.

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