FORMER prime minister David Cameron is being investigated by the lobbying watchdog following claims he tried to persuade Government figures to grant loans to a financial firm he worked for.
Cameron reportedly sent a number of texts to the Chancellor’s private phone asking for support for Greensill Capital through the Government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).
He is also alleged to have approached the Bank of England about the firm, which collapsed into administration earlier this month.
His activities are now being investigated by Harry Rich, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists – a post set up in legislation passed by Mr Cameron’s Government in 2014.
The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 makes it an offence for someone who is not a registered lobbyist to directly lobby ministers or senior civil servants.
The offence could result in a fine of up to £7500.
But people lobbying on behalf of their own organisation are not required to register and it is understood that Cameron was an employee at Greensill.
READ MORE: SNP call for inquiry into nepotism and cronyism among Tories in Westminster
In a statement, the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists said: “Following media reports, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists is investigating whether Mr David Cameron has engaged in unregistered consultant lobbying.
“The registrar will not comment on this further while the investigation is ongoing.
“Once it is complete, an investigation summary will be published on the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists website.”
The Sunday Times reported that the former prime minister sent a number of texts to Rishi Sunak asking for help for Greensill.
The Times subsequently reported that he had directly lobbied the Bank of England.
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson was questioned about whether Cameron had contacted advisers in No 10 about the firm.
Johnson said: “That’s news to me. Any such contacts or whatever, of course, will be registered in the proper way.”
In response to questions from Darren Jones, Labour chairman of the Business Select Committee, Johnson added: “On your point about contact between David Cameron, a former prime minister, and my office – or anybody in my office – I simply have no knowledge of that.”
Greensill was the main financial backer for Liberty Steel, which owns 12 plants in the UK and employs 5000 people but now faces an uncertain future.
Cameron’s office has not commented on the investigation.
Earlier this week, The National reported that the SNP have called for a full investigation into cronyism at Westminster after the texts between Cameron and Sunak were revealed.
The SNP say this shows that top London politicos believe “all it takes to get government cash is a quick text from one Tory to another”.
The party has now joined Labour in calling for a full investigation into the situation.
The SNP’s shadow chancellor, Alison Thewliss MP, said the news of Cameron lobbying Sunak was “just the latest in a long list of examples laying bare the extent of Tory cronyism”.
Thewliss said: “It speaks volumes that a former Tory prime minister thinks it’s acceptable to drop a text to the current Tory Chancellor for back-door access to vital Covid schemes. The whole situation must be investigated fully and without delay.
“This Tory government has set the standard so that others think all it takes to get government cash is a quick text from one Tory to another. This is just the latest in a long list of examples laying bare the extent of Tory cronyism at Whitehall and Westminster.
"Despite the efforts of the SNP to stamp out this kind of nepotism, it is clear that Westminster is broken beyond repair. The best future for Scotland is to build a fairer society as an independent country.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, said: “Rishi Sunak already had questions to answer as to why Greensill was given so much more access to the Treasury than other Covid lenders.
“The suggestion that David Cameron was also contacting the Chancellor directly to further Greensill’s commercial interests raises even bigger concerns.
“This is public money, and the processes involved in decision-making should be fully transparent and beyond reproach. We need a full and thorough investigation into what’s happened here.”
The Treasury declined to comment on the calls for an inquiry.
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