Nigel Farage NatWest: Labour questions Downing Street pressure following NatWest boss Alison Rose’s resignation over Farage account

Dame Alison rose resigned after discussing Nigel Farage’s bank account with a journalist.

Senior Labour figures have questioned Downing Street’s “astonishing” move to add to the demands for the resignation of NatWest’s Dame Alison Rose over centring Nigel Farage’s bank account.

Dame Alison resigned as chief executive after acknowledging a “serious error of judgment” by discussing with a BBC journalist Mr Farage’s relationship with private bank Coutts.

Given the full backing of the Natwest board late on Tuesday evening, Dame Alison stood down hours later after “significant concerns” from Downing Street and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt were briefed to the media.

Dame Alison Rose resigned as chief executive of NatWest on Tuesday after she admitted to being the source of an inaccurate story about Nigel Farage's finances.

Wednesday morning also saw Dame Alison ousted from her roles on the Government’s energy efficiency taskforce, the net zero council, and the Prime Minister’s business council.

Now trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds had argued Dame Alison’s position was a “matter for NatWest” rather than for the Government to intervene.

He questioned why No 10 and the Treasury heaped pressure on Dame Alison when they were “slow to act” in pushing out scandal-hit ministers.

He told Sky News: “It’s astonishing, isn’t it, to see last night the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister under pressure from outside weighing in so quickly against a business leader like Dame Alison Rose?

Nigel Farage had called for Dame Alison to go.

“When you think about the situations we’ve had in Government, whether it’s with Nadhim Zahawi, whether it’s with Gavin Williamson, whether it’s with Dominic Raab, when the Government certainly hasn’t been holding itself to that same standard.

“When it comes to dealing decisively with colleagues in Government, the Prime Minister has invariably been slow to act but when it came to this situation last night with a business leader they moved straight in.

“If only the Government would hold itself to the same standards of speed, I’m sure we’d be in a much better position generally.

“It was a matter between Dame Alison Rose and the NatWest board. The Chancellor and the Prime Minister never showed such a desire to intervene when they had their own problems.”

Darren Jones, who chairs the Commons Business and Trade Committee, argued that the intervention was because of the “power Farage seems to have over the Tories”.

The Labour MP said he does not question that Dame Alison “did something wrong” but asked why “the PM got involved”.

He acknowledged the 38.6 per cent public stake in NatWest, but also referred to the Government’s complete ownership of the Post Office.

Mr Jones tweeted: “Has the PM told the CEO to pay back bonuses based on false accounts? Or asked him to resign? No. Spot the difference?”

However, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was clear he believed NatWest was in the “wrong” and suggested Dame Alison had no choice but to resign.

The Labour leader told BBC Radio 5 Live: “NatWest got this one wrong. And that’s why Alison Rose had to resign.”

Asked if he felt sorry for Mr Farage, he said: “Yeah, he shouldn’t have had his personal details revealed like that.

“As a broad principle, nobody should be refused banking because of their political views.”

A No 10 source said Dame Alison “has done the right thing in resigning”, saying the Prime Minister “was concerned about the unfolding situation”.

“Everyone would expect people in public life – whether that’s in a business leadership role or otherwise – to act responsibly and with integrity,” they added.