The FCA has concluded that there is no evidence of banks denying politicians access to accounts due to their political views following an investigation in the wake of the row that erupted between Nigel Farage and Coutts Bank this summer.

The regulator launched its probe in August after Coutts Bank decided to end its relationship with the former UKIP leader.

An internal document compiled by Coutts showed the bank acted after it took into account the fact his mortgage would shortly be paid off and also discussed potential, “reputational risk to the bank.”

Mr Farage claimed the account was shut due to his political opinions and the ensuing row led to Coutts chief executive Peter Flavel stepping down along with Alison Rose, chief executive of Coutts’ parent NatWest in August.

After a short investigation, the FCA said the evidence it gathered “suggests that no firm closed an account between July 2022 and June 2023 primarily because of a customer’s political views.”

It said it will work with banks, building societies and payment companies to verify the data they supplied and better understand why and when they close accounts due to "reputational risk."

FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi said: “While no bank, building society or payment firm reported to us that they had closed accounts primarily due to someone’s political views, further work is needed for us to be sure.”

The FCA said it will look into why there are 1.1 million people in the UK who do not have a bank account and what kind of people fall into the category.

Mr Rathi said: "The time is right for a debate on how we balance access to bank accounts with the threat of financial crime, as well as firms’ reasonable risk and commercial appetites.”

He said an important question for policy makers is whether all individuals, businesses and organisations should have the right to an account, as is the case in some other countries.

He added that international comparisons suggest robust digital identities could play an important role not only in countering financial crime but also in aiding financial inclusion.

Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the Treasury, said: "We note the initial report of the FCA. Clearly there is more to be done to validate the submissions by banks and to ensure that the FCA have thoroughly followed up de-banked customer perspectives.”

He added: “Free speech is a fundamental human right. No ifs, no buts - everyone must be able to express their lawful opinions without fear of losing the vital access to a bank account.”