Smoking gun email reveals Brexit guru Richard Tice was debanked because of his political views
BREXIT pioneer Richard Tice was debanked because of his political views, a smoking gun document has revealed.
The Reform Party leader applied to the financial giant Swiss Re - based at London’s famous Gherkin building - for a loan for his business in April last year.
But bombshell internal bank documents reveal his firm, Quidnet Capital, was rejected because Mr Tice was deemed a “reputational risk”.
Explaining its “reason for decline”, the document adds: “Quidnet CEO is Richard Tice, a former member of the European parliament for the East of England.
“He is currently leader of Reform UK.”
The explosive revelation reignites the debanking row which has rocked Britain’s financial institutions.
Mr Tice hit out at the decision - and warned woke culture is hammering UK plc.
He fumed: “This is one of the reasons we are struggling to grow as an economy - because people and businesses are being weighed down by all this bureaucracy and it is all down to wokeness.”
Swiss Re declined to comment on the case.
They were forced to come clean about why they blocked the loan only after Mr Tice submitted a subject access request to get the secret documents.
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Mr Tice - a successful businessman and close friend and ally of Nigel Farage - said Britain’s obsession with wokeness is harming our economy.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “Because of wokeness I am deemed a reputational risk.
“I am a man who has made money, brought in investment, created jobs and built many homes in this country.
“If that is how they think of people who are successful businessmen then God help us all.
“It is insane.”
The Treasury has ordered banks to stop blacklisting clients because off their political views after Mr Farage exposed the scandal earlier this year.
The former Brexit Party leader was debanked by Coutts, in a scandal that saw the boss of Coutts’ owner NatWest, Dame Alison Rose, forced to quit in July.
Swiss Re said that as a matter of policy they do not comment on specific investments.
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In his hardest hitting comments on the scandal yet, Treasury Minister Andrew Griffith told The Sun on Sunday: “We have repeatedly made clear that nobody should not have access to banking due to their political views
“Whether or not an institution agrees with the views of Mr Tice or his party, as someone who is engaged in the democratic process and expressing lawful views, that couldn’t cause any reputational risk.”