Labour questions Tory links to finance company

LABOUR HAS ramped up calls for an inquiry into the Government’s links with Greensill Capital following reports that the former head of Whitehall procurement took a job with the firm without proper vetting.

Bill Crothers joined the board of the financial firm in 2016, less than a year after leaving his post as the government’s chief procurement officer, according to reports in The Times and Financial Times.

According to the papers, he failed to obtain permission from the official advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba) which is supposed to vet any private sector appointments taken by former ministers and senior servants within two years of leaving their posts.

Two years later, in 2018, Greensill – founded by the Australian financier Lex Greensill – was involved in running a contract won by the US software firm Taulia to provide “supply chain finance” to NHS pharmacies.

The Government has already been facing questions over David Cameron’s links with Greensill when he was prime minister and subsequent lobbying on its behalf after he left office.

The firm has since filed for insolvency after failing to secure support through the Government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility. Its collapse threatens thousands of jobs in Liberty Steel.

In a letter to the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds and shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves called for a “full, transparent and thorough investigation” into Greensill’s links with the Conservative government.

“The irresponsible behaviour of Greensill Capital and its almost unparalleled access to the heart of Government raises serious questions about what kind of businesses the Government is engaging with,” they said.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We will respond to the letter in due course.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer repeated his calls for an inquiry.