The chief executive of NatWest finally admitted on Tuesday that she leaked private banking information about Nigel Farage to the BBC.

In a statement, Dame Alison Rose said she was the source of the story and admitted “a serious error of judgment” in briefing the BBC.

But she claimed she thought the information was already in the public domain, in a desperate attempt to cling on to her job. 

Dame Alison said: “I recognise that in my conversations with Simon Jack of the BBC, I made a serious error of judgment in discussing Mr Farage’s relationship with the bank. 

“Given the consequences of this, I want to address the questions that have been raised and set out the substance of the conversations that took place.”

Sir Howard Davies, the bank’s chairman, said he was standing by Dame Alison. 

“This was a regrettable error of judgment on her part. The events will be taken into account in decisions on remuneration at the appropriate time,” he said. 

“However, after careful reflection the Board has concluded that it retains full confidence in Ms Rose as CEO of the bank.”

This is a breaking story. More to follow.