How Rishi sent texts saying he’d help Dave
RISHI Sunak has released text messages he sent to David Cameron after the former Prime Minister approached him in an effort to secure loans for a nowcollapsed finance firm.
The Chancellor revealed last night that Mr Cameron contacted three ministers, including him, in the hope of securing government money for Greensill Capital.
Mr Cameron bombarded Mr Sunak’s personal mobile with a series of messages, urging him to lend millions to the firm.
The former Prime Minister was a paid adviser to the specialist lender, whose collapse is threatening thousands of steel jobs in the UK, and wanted it to gain access to the Government’s biggest pandemic loans scheme.
The messages released yesterday following Freedom of Information requests showed Mr Sunak told him that he had ‘pushed’ officials to explore a plan that could have helped the firm.
Labour suggested the Chancellor may have broken the ministerial code but this was dismissed by his allies.
Mr Sunak said Mr Cameron ‘reached out informally by telephone’ to him, as well as to Economic Secretary John Glen and Financial Secretary Jesse Norman, over Covid support for Greensill Capital. The firm requested the terms of the Covid Corporate Finance Facility – administered by the Bank of England – be altered so that it could access it, but this was rejected.
Greensill later filed for insolvency, rendering Mr Cameron’s reported share options worthless.
The Chancellor published two text messages he sent to Mr Cameron in April 2020.
Messages sent by Mr Cameron have been withheld on the grounds he had an ‘expectation of confidence’.
One sent on April 23, said: ‘I have pushed the team to explore an alternative with the Bank that might work. No guarantees, but the Bank are currently looking at it.’
The Chancellor said he had published the texts ‘for the avoidance of any doubt’. He added: ‘It is right that the Treasury… considers policy suggestions that are put to us, especially in an unprecedented crisis. In this instance, it became clear through officials’ discussions with Greensill that their proposal was not workable… I stand by my decision to reject their request.’ Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: ‘These messages suggest... the Chancellor “pushed” officials to consider Greensill’s requests.’ But a Tory source called this ‘categorically untrue’. The Scottish taxpayer has also become embroiled in the saga. The Scottish Government could have to pay up to £32million a year for 25 years as part of a guarantee to a Scots smelter in a deal linked to Greensill and GFG.