In the red: After the Farage scandal, it is right for Coutts CEO Peter Flavel to go

Peter Flavel has followed NatWest bank boss Alison Rose out of the door, writes Chris Blackhurst. Good – his position had become untenable

When someone pays on a Coutts card now, instead of being impressed – as they and the bank would like you to be – you’re likely to snigger (Alamy)

Even by the lamentable standards of UK banking, it’s difficult to think of anything as cack-handed as the Coutts management of the Nigel Farage debacle.

It’s so bad as to make you wonder, goodness: if this is what we know about, how bad could it really be, in relation to the events of which we have no knowledge? In a matter of a few weeks, the reputation of a bank that lorded over everybody from Dracula to Emma Watson in its 300-year history – used to serving the wealthiest sliver of society – has been well and truly rubbished.

When someone pays on a Coutts card now, instead of being impressed – as they and the bank would like you to be – you’re likely to snigger and refer to the ex-Ukip leader. To say that the bank got itself into a terrible mess is an understatement.