PM orders probe into lobbying
BORIS Johnson has authorised an independent investigation into lobbying attempts by David Cameron for Greensill Capital.
Whitehall officials have already begun asking ministers and special advisers for details of all communication with the former prime minister on behalf of the scandal-hit finance firm.
Nigel Boardman, a legal expert and a non-executive director with the Government’s Business Energy and Industrial Strategy department, will be leading the investigation.
BORIS Johnson has authorised an independent investigation into lobbying attempts by David Cameron for finance firm Greensill Capital.
Whitehall officials have already begun asking ministers and special advisers for details of all communication with the former prime minister on behalf of the scandal-hit finance firm.
Nigel Boardman, a legal expert and a non-executive director with the Government’s Business Energy and Industrial Strategy department, will be leading the investigation, it was announced yesterday.
It comes after Gordon Brown said a law change may be required to ensure similar lobbying activities cannot happen again, and said that former prime ministers should “never be lobbying for commercial gain”. It is understood that Mr Cameron contacted the Chancellor Rishi Sunak about securing funding for Greensill, but this request was rejected.
Greenshill collapsed last month, putting 50,000 jobs at risk worldwide, including 5,000 steelworkers in the UK.
The former PM is also reported to have set up a private drink with the company boss Lex Greensill and Health Secretary Matt Hancock, but he has denied any wrongdoing.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The Cabinet Office is commissioning an independent review on behalf of the prime minister to establish the development and use of supply chain finance and associated activities in government, and the role Greensill played in those.
“As you know there’s significant interest in this matter. So, the PM has called for the review to ensure government is completely transparent about such activities, and that the public can see for themselves if good value was secured for taxpayers’ money.
“This independent review will also look at how contracts were secured and how business representatives engaged with government. It will be led by legal expert Nigel Boardman.”
Asked if the review would be specifically looking at David Cameron’s actions, the spokesman said it would “look at how contracts are secured and how business representatives engaged” with the UK Government.
A timescale for completion of the investigation has not yet been set out, but Downing Street said “the prime minister wants this to be done thoroughly and he wants it to be done promptly so you can expect a prompt return”.
Ian Murray MP, Labour’s shadow secretary of state for Scotland, welcomed the inquiry but said it could not become “another Tory cover-up”.
He also said there had to be a full investigation into the circumstances of the meeting between Scotland’s Rural Environment Secretary Fergus Ewing and Mr Greensill, after it emerged on Sunday that he had gone for a private dinner with him and steel billionaire Sanjeev Gupta without anyone else present, or any notes being taken.
Mr Murray said: “This is an incredibly serious issue, and it’s right that an independent investigation has been called into David Cameron’s actions.
“It’s vital there is not another Tory cover-up. The deals agreed between the UK and Scottish governments with Greensill and GFG have backfired spectacularly, putting many jobs and over half a billion pounds of public money at risk.
“We also urgently need all of the details of Fergus Ewing’s discussions with Greensill and GFG made public.”
Labour has secured an urgent question in the Commons tomorrow, where they plan to challenge the chancellor over the Greensill affair.
The party’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds will ask why Greensill was chosen to provide Covid business loans, despite not being regulated like a bank.
SNP MP Stewart Hosie said that the Tory government was “rotten to its very core” and urged senior Cabinet ministers to come before parliament to answer questions over the treatment of the firm.