Row erupts as NatWest boss who quit in disgrace over the Nigel Farage banking scandal is in line for a £2.4 million payout as she spends a year on gardening leave

• NatWest revealed yesterday Dame Alison Rose is in line for a £2.4million payout 
• She could actually be in line for nearer £10million in bonuses and share awards 

A multi-million-pound package for the NatWest boss forced out over the Nigel Farage banking scandal was last night slammed as a ‘disgraceful reward for failure’.

The bank revealed yesterday that former chief executive Dame Alison Rose is in line for a £2.4million payout as she spends a year on gardening leave following her resignation last month.

But Dame Alison could actually be in line for nearer £10million in bonuses and share awards if the taxpayer-backed bank does not claw back her renumeration in light of an internal probe into the scandal.

Last night Mr Farage branded the package a ‘sick joke’.

His account with the prestigious Coutts bank, which is owned by NatWest, was closed in June as the bank felt it did not align with his political ‘values’. The move by the bank sparked a public furore. Dame Alison quit after admitting she was behind the leaking of the decision to the BBC which suggested the account was shut for commercial reasons. Mr Farage was said to have not enough money to remain a customer of ‘the Queen’s bank’.

Dame Alison Rose is in line for a £2.4million payout as she spends a year on gardening leave following her resignation last month. She is pictured leaving her home on Wednesday

But Dame Alison (pictured on Wednesday) could actually be in line for nearer £10million in bonuses and share awards if the taxpayer-backed bank does not claw back her renumeration in light of an internal probe into the scandal

Dame Alison quit after admitting she was behind the leaking of the decision to the BBC which suggested the account was shut for commercial reasons. Nigel Farage (pictured) was said to have not enough money to remain a customer of ‘the Queen’s bank’

Last night she was pictured looking carefree, getting into a taxi outside her home – a £3million Victorian villa in the exclusive north London area of Highgate.

NatWest had earlier disclosed that under her contract, Dame Alison was entitled to a salary, pension and share package worth £2.43million to cover her 12-month notice period. However, this will remain under review pending investigations into the Farage scandal.

Former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry said the payoff represented a ‘disgraceful reward for failure in this largely taxpayer-owned bank’.

Mr Farage said: ‘When I heard the news, I thought it was, perhaps, a sick joke.

‘Surely you can’t breach client confidentiality, you can’t break virtually every important rule in the FCA codebook and you can’t then lie about it after you’ve briefed the BBC and still receive a £2.43million payout. That’s exactly what’s happened to Dame Alison Rose. The so-called inquiry into what she did has been kicked into the long grass.’

Former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘People who are accused of gross misconduct do not deserve payouts.’

NatWest had earlier disclosed that under her contract, Dame Alison (pictured) was entitled to a salary, pension and share package worth £2.43million to cover her 12-month notice period

Backbencher Philip Davies added: ‘It is disgraceful. For breaching client confidentiality, she should have faced a summary dismissal. Shareholders of NatWest should be fuming about this – and it is yet another reason why the chairman of NatWest should be removed with immediate effect.’ 

MPs from across the political spectrum also weighed in. Labour’s Jon Trickett, who served in Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet, said: ‘An ordinary bank worker would get their P45. This bank boss gets an eye-watering reward for failure with taxpayers’ money. It’s an absolute disgrace.’

NatWest’s chairman Howard Davies said last month – shortly before Dame Alison quit – that the de-banking affair would be ‘taken into account in decisions on remuneration’.

Dame Alison has previously said she made a ‘serious error of judgment’ in briefing a senior BBC journalist with inaccurate information about why Mr Farage’s account was closed. She said he fell under the wealth threshold needed to maintain a Coutts account. 

Dame Alison has previously said she made a ‘serious error of judgment’ in briefing a senior BBC journalist with inaccurate information about why Mr Farage’s account was closed. She said he fell under the wealth threshold needed to maintain a Coutts account. She is pictured outside her home on Wednesday

NatWest has said investigations were continuing into the matter and it would continue to review her planned payout. Following Dame Alison’s resignation, the bank sought to ‘undertake a thorough and independent review into the account closure which will be completed by October’

However, a Subject Access Request revealed staff compiled a 36-page dossier detailing the bank’s issues with Mr Farage’s political views and the reputational risk they presented.

‘Put simply, I was wrong to respond to any question raised by the BBC about this case,’ she said. ‘I want to extend my sincere apologies to Mr Farage for the personal hurt this has caused him.’

NatWest has said investigations were continuing into the matter and it would continue to review her planned payout. Following Dame Alison’s resignation, the bank sought to ‘undertake a thorough and independent review into the account closure which will be completed by October’.

A spokesman for NatWest said: ‘Like other employees where an investigation outcome is pending, Alison is receiving her fixed pay. This is in line with her contractual notice period and remains under continual review, as the independent investigation continues. No decision on her remuneration will be taken until the relevant investigations are complete.’

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