The Guardian’s bank correspondent, Kalyeena Makortoff, speaks with Rachel Humphreys about Greensill, a supply chain finance company and its relationship with former Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron joined Greensill as an adviser in 2018, two years after he resigned as prime minister. It turned out that last year he sent texts to Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and called “informally” to two other treasury ministers, asking Greensill Capital to obtain the largest possible allocation of government loans under the Covid or CCFF corporate finance facility. . He also lobbied for an assistant no. 10 and, in 2019, took Lex Greensill for a “private drink” with Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Although Cameron did not break any rules, questions arose that he appeared to have used personal contacts to seek preferential treatment for a company with a financial stake. On Monday, No. 10 said it was launching an independent investigation into Cameron’s lobby, led by corporate lawyer and government adviser Nigel Boardman. Rachel also hears from the Guardian political correspondent Rajeev Shaal about how Cameron reacted to the scandal and the wider role of the lobby in British politics.
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