Tory MP claims TSB bank still has his money after being ‘debanked’ last year
A Conservative MP has accused TSB of shutting down his account last year without explanation, leaving him unable to access his own money.
Royston Smith, the MP for Southampton, Itchen told GB News he was given no reason for being ‘debanked’ in April 2022.
It comes after Nigel Farage had his account at Coutts closed, with the ex-Brexit Party leader presenting evidence it was shut partly due to his political beliefs.
The scandal has led to the resignation of NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose and Coutts CEO Peter Flavel.
On Wednesday, Smith tweeted: "A year ago @TSB threw me out of their bank without explanation (guess why). I wrote to the Chief Executive, Robin Bullock, multiple times but never received a reply or an acknowledgment from him. 12 months later TSB still have my money despite having asked them to return it."
Speaking on Farage’s show on GB News, Smith said he had written to Bulloch five times about the apparent incident – but had received no reply.
He said: “I’ve had some replies from their public affairs people from time to time but the last two times that I wrote to the chief executive, I demanded my money back and I said that I would hold him personally responsible and I said that I would take legal action.
“He didn’t even reply to that letter.
“They have now been sitting with my money in their bank for over a year.”
Smith claims that although TSB sent him a cheque to cash, by the time he was able to open a new account the cheque had expired. He said he went back to TSB and requested they re-issued it in April and June.
He said he only subsequently received an email from TSB offering a telephone call discussing how to resolve the issue after he sent the tweet.
He added he had put in a subject access request to find out why his account was closed.
A TSB spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: "TSB accounts are reviewed on a periodical basis to ensure we comply with regulatory obligations. We do not comment on individual customer cases."
Yahoo News UK has contacted Royston Smith for a statement.
Two resignations amid Nigel Farage banking row
Rose’s resignations came after an emergency board meeting was called late on Tuesday night to determine her future.
Flavel stepped down on Thursday, with interim boss, Paul Thwaite, saying the resignation was agreed by mutual consent and was the “right decision for Coutts and the wider group”.
It followed days of criticism after Farage presented evidence that his account at Coutts had been closed partly due to his political views conflicting with the bank’s values.
The evidence obtained from the bank through a data request contradicted a BBC News story, which initially claimed the account closure was motivated by commercial reasons only, citing Farage’s failure to meet a £1m borrowing requirement.
Rose admitted discussing Farage’s relationship with Coutts in a conversation with the BBC’s reporter behind the story, business editor Simon Jack.
The boss insisted she “did not reveal any personal financial information about Mr Farage”, but admitted having left Jack with the “impression that the decision to close Mr Farage’s accounts was solely a commercial one”.
Farage responded by saying that the exit of Rose was only “a start” and that changes need to go further.
Flavel said of his own resignation: “I am exceptionally proud of my seven years at Coutts and I want to thank the team that have built it into such a high-performing business.
