'People should be able to exercise lawful freedom of expression without the fear of having their bank accounts closed,' he said. Dame Alison's public apology to Mr Farage comes a day after both the BBC and business editor Simon Jack (pictured) said sorry to the politician-turned-broadcaster NatWest Group chairman Sir Howard Davies said the board 'retains full confidence' in Dame Alison as chief executive, despite the scandal Mr Jack conceded that although the source of the story was 'senior' the information 'turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate' The BBC also posted a statement on its 'Corrections and Clarifications' website about its initial coverage of Mr Farage's 'de-banking' row with Coutts