Debunking the debanking
Sir: Toby Young is wrong to say the Conservatives have ‘failed us on debanking’ (No sacred cows, 8 June). On the contrary, this was a situation where immediately following his incident being brought to my attention, swift and decisive action was taken. The Free Speech Union was indeed ‘patient zero’ of the ‘debanking’ epidemiology and such was my concern about its chilling impact on freedom of expression that I invited Toby and Miriam Cates MP to meet me in my Treasury offices. Following that meeting, company bosses and financial regulators were summoned, a call for evidence to identify other cases launched, government expectations made crystal clear and civil servants instructed to explore all avenues to prevent recurrences, which led to the law change which has already been published as secondary legislation.
In the case of Nigel Farage, the NatWest chief executive left office shortly after it became clear that Farage’s political views may have played a role in the closure of his account.
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