Greensill’s access to Downing Street ‘a glaring conflict of interest’ MPS told

THE access that Lex Greensill had to Downing Street years before he was given Government contracts was a “screaming, glaring conflict of interest”, MPS have been told.

The head of the civil service, Simon Case, and the Cabinet Office’s ethics director Darren Tierney were addressing a Westminster committee yesterday to answer questions about the allegations of cronyism at the heart of government.

Their appearance at the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee follows revelations that financier Mr Greensill had access to No 10 while David Cameron was Prime Minister.

Mr Case told MPS he was “alarmed” about the role Mr Greensill had, admitting that officials had so far been unable to find any contract detailing his work and added that the role didn’t “look right”.

Mr Tierney also admitted it looked like “a screaming, glaring conflict of interest”.

Mr Greensill owned Greensill Capital, which collapsed earlier this year and put thousands of UK steel industry jobs at risk.

He had a business card stating he was a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office under Mr Cameron, and after he stood down as PM, Mr Cameron began working for him.

It emerged that the former Prime Minister had tried to lobby Chancellor Rishi Sunak to get financial support for the failing firm at the start of the pandemic and arranged private drinks between Mr Greensill and the UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Lawyer Nigel Boardman has been appointed by Boris Johnson to lead an inquiry into the now-collapsed finance firm’s activities in government.

Conservative MP David Jones asked Mr Tierney if Mr Greensill could have acquired information in No 10 that “would have been of assistance to him” in deciding the basis upon which he would offer commercial services to the Government.

Mr Tierney said: “I think it’s exactly that potential conflict of interest that we have asked Nigel Boardman to look at.”

Mr Jones then asked: “I mean, you say potential conflict of interest, doesn’t it look a screaming, glaring conflict of interest?

Mr Tierney replied: “Yes it does.” When asked if it looked to be “appalling incompetence” by senior officials, Mr Tierney said: “What we haven’t seen is the evidence of how the conflict was to be managed, and that is what we have asked Nigel Boardman to look into.”

Mr Tierney also told MPS that his department had been “unable to find a contract” for Mr Greensill, and added: “What we have found so far are an appointment letter, and then subsequent reappointment letters, which set out some conditions on his appointment.

“Things like the Official Secrets Act, confidentiality, business appointment rules when he leaves. But so far we have been unable to identify a contract.”