More than 1,000 new cases relating bank closures have been opened in the wake of the Nigel Farage debanking scandal.

The Financial Ombudsman has launched 1,613 investigations in the six months to the end of September - compared to 2,708 cases across the whole of 2022-23.

The new figures suggest complaints are on track to rise by a fifth to around 3,200 this financial year if the current trend continues.

A letter to the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) revealed the surging number of complaints are being upheld by the regulator following greater public scrutiny.

The committee previously warned that small and medium-sized businesses has been closed without reason by high street lenders.

It follows the treatment of GB News' presenter Nigel Farage after his Coutts bank account was closed because his views did not “align” with the bank’s own values “as an inclusive organisation”.

The incident sparked concerns about widespread illegitimate account closures.

Harriett Baldwin, chairman of the cross-party TSC, said MPs were “concerned” about the rise in complaints.

"These figures only reflect people who have actually approached the Financial Ombudsman following the closure, so it may not be a complete number," she told The Telegraph.

“Businesses are telling us themselves that they have been debanked, and it can often be very hard for them to find out why. So this is something that we are going to focus on.”

So far this year, the Ombudsman said 32 per cent of complaints have been upheld, compared with 26 per cent in 2022-23.

Following a series of struggles by small and medium-sized enterprises accessing finance, MPs have launched an inquiry about the challenges.