LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s data watchdog said on Friday it would urgently review its communications related to a privacy complaint made by former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage about the way NatWest handled his customer information when closing his accounts.
The ICO had found former NatWest CEO Alison Rose infringed Farage’s data rights when she discussed his relationship with the bank with a BBC journalist, according to a copy of the ICO decision seen by Reuters and other media on Wednesday.
In a statement on Friday, the ICO said Rose had since expressed concerns.
“The ICO acknowledges that we did not investigate a complaint against Ms Rose nor did we give her an opportunity to comment on any findings in relation to her role,” the ICO said in a statement.
“We concede that it would have been appropriate to do so, and we will be reviewing this as a matter of urgency.”
An ICO spokesperson reiterated on Friday that the regulator had upheld two parts of Farage’s complaint, but did not intend to take further regulatory action for now.
NatWest shares suffered their biggest one-day drop in seven years on Friday after a profit downgrade and news it faced regulatory scrutiny over potential breaches in its “debanking” of Farage.
(Reporting by Iain Withers)
