Pressure mounts on Coutts CEO after claiming he kept his NatWest boss in the dark about Farage fiasco

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Pressure is mounting on banking bosses in the center of Nigel Farage's row after NatWest was forced to apologize to the former Ukip leader for 'deeply inappropriate comments' made about him.

Dame Alison Rose, managing director of NatWest Group, owner of Coutts, wrote to Mr Farage insisting that comments made in a filing by Coutts "do not reflect the views of the bank". It came after the arch-Brexiteer said his bank account was unfairly closed because he disagreed with his political views.

Speculation is mounting that Coutts CEO Peter Flavel may have to take responsibility for the fiasco, as the final decision over Mr Farage's account was his.

Insiders say Dame Alison was kept in the dark about what was going on and that Mr Flavel did not didn't do enough to keep her fully informed.

Mr. Flavel, a Harvard Business School alum, joined Coutts as CEO in 2016 of JP Morgan.

Banking expert Sir Philip Augar today said Dame Alison's apology to Mr Farage may not be enough to save his job and end the controversy.

“It can't end for NatWest and it can't end for Alison Rose in particular,” he told BBC Radio 4 's Today. "You can't have a utility type industry deciding who is free to give political opinions and who isn't. It strikes at the heart of democracy. It's like a water or electricity company saying 'we won't supply you because we don't like your political opinions.' phobic and racist".

The filing also repeated earlier press reports, from an old school friend, that a teenaged Farage sang "gas 'em all, gas 'em all", about the Jewish people, as well as claims reported in the press by a former teacher that Mr Farage "once paraded through a village in Sussex singing Hitler Youth songs".

In her apology, Dame Alison said that "legally held political and personal opinions" do not prevent having an account in the institution. She said she was ordering a full...