Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the shocking figure "appalling" and slammed European rules that he believes "makes it cheaper for banks to close accounts over unusual transactions." Farage, who was elected to the British Parliament in 2024 and leads the conservative populist Reform Party, is no stranger to debanking, having had his accounts closed by Coutts in 2023.

So what's the banks' excuse? "Financial crime reasons," they said, according to documents obtained by The Telegraph under Freedom of Information rules.