Grant Shapps has admitted that he and his family have struggled to open accounts at major banks following the Nigel Farage row.

The Energy Security secretary, who is Jewish, revealed that he too had been branded a 'politically exposed person' - the controversial tag that saw Nigel Farage lose his account at Coutts.

The Conservative politician accused banks of having "gone too far with this" and added to The Sun on Sunday: “Every single member of my family - my wife, my brother and my sister. All different banks. It is difficulty in getting an account.”

Speaking about his youngest son, he went on to say: “My 19-year-old son, he's just been sent an enormous letter, an enormous list of things that HSBC wants him to provide, which is as long as your arm and completely unreasonable.

"HSBC - the bank he has been with since he was a little kid - had asked him for a list as long as his arm about you know, what's the source of your wealth and what's this, what's that.

"My oldest son is 22 and he was outright refused an account by one of the Challenger banks. It is mad."

Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage had his account closed by Coutts (Photo: Getty)

Shapps also spoke about his own personal experience and described how one bank ordered him to provide 18 year’s worth of payslips before it would let him become a customer.

He said: “I said how am I meant to get 18 years of payslips? It was since I had started being an MP."

The Welwyn Hatfield MP said that it was a problem faced by politicians and "anyone in public service" including former top civil servants.

He added: “It's anyone in public service. So former permanent secretaries of mine tell me that they have difficulty getting banking. 

“Anyone who decides to devote their life to public service is essentially at risk of being penalised by banks.”

The senior minister issued a warning to banking chiefs, after the Government moved swiftly to introduce a number of reforms in the wake of Farage's high-profile campaign against Coutts and parent company NatWest.

Shapps concluded: “They've gone too far with this. They should get on with the job of being good at banking and not trying to second guess society. There are laws, there are politicians, there are courts."

HSBC declined to comment.