The bank correspondent for The Guardian, Kalyeena Makortoff, talk to Rachel Humphreys about Greensill, a supply chain financing company, and his relationship with former Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron joined Greensill as an adviser in 2018, two years after resigning as prime minister. It was learned that last year he sent texts to Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and called “informally” two other Treasury ministers, asking Greensill Capital to obtain the largest possible loan allocation with the government under the Covid or CCFF corporate financing facility. He also pressured a No. 10 aide and in 2019 led Lex Greensill to a “private drink” with Matt Hancock, the health secretary.
Although Cameron has not breached any rules, there have been questions about the fact that he appears to have used personal contacts to seek preferential treatment for a company in which he had a financial stake. On Monday, No. 10 said it would launch an independent investigation into Cameron’s lobby, led by corporate lawyer and government adviser Nigel Boardman. Rachel also has news from the Guardian political correspondent Rajeev Shaal on how Cameron has responded to the scandal and the wider role of the lobby in UK politics.
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