Greensill scandal
British political lobbying scandal
The Greensill scandal was a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to lobbying activities on behalf of financial services company Greensill Capital which was founded in 2011 by Lex Greensill. It implicated former Prime Minister David Cameron, former Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood and several other civil servants, and occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
First reported by the Financial Times and The Sunday Times, it arose from the insolvency of the supply chain financing firm Greensill Capital in March 2021, first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Reports emerged that Cameron had lobbied Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in 2020 to change rules in order to allow Greensill to join the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, a government loan scheme that was initiated to support companies during the pandemic-related economic recession.
A Cabinet Office inquiry found Lord Heywood to be primarily responsible for Lex Greensill being given a role in government and access into 10 Downing Street. That inquiry and two other separate official inquiries found that Cameron had not broken any lobbying rules or acted unlawfully in relation to his Greensill lobbying activities, although a Treasury committee report said in finding he did not break lobbying rules “that reflects on the insufficient strength of the rules”.
Background
During Cameron's 2010–2016 premiership, financier Lex Greensill, suggested by the image of a business card published by the Labour Party to be a senior advisor to the Prime Minister, was alleged by The Sunday Times to have had access to eleven departments and agencies. In 2018, Cameron became an adviser to Greensill Capital and held shares in the company. It has been reported that he may have made $60 million from a listing of the company, as well as it being reported that "people familiar with the matter" said he was being paid over $1 million a year for 25 days work per year.
Documents obtained by the BBC's Panorama suggested that Cameron earned around £7m from his salary and selling shares.
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