David Cameron cleared of breaking lobbying rules after Greensill reports
Former PM David Cameron has been cleared of breaking lobbying rules just days after reports he asked Downing Street officials to help Greensill Capital.
“The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists has concluded his investigation into whether the Rt Hon David Cameron has engaged in unregistered consultant lobbying,” the registrar said in a statement.
“His decision is that based on detailed information and assurances provided, Mr Cameron’s activities do not fall within the criteria that require registration on the Register of Consultant Lobbyists.”
It comes just a day after the registrar confirmed it had launched an investigation into Cameron’s lobbying.
The former PM who acts as an adviser to Greensill Capital reportedly lobbied the government and the Bank of England to increase the company’s access to Covid-19 loan schemes, months before the finance company collapsed.
The Sunday Times last weekend reported Cameron, who also had millions in potential stock options in the firm, texted the Chancellor on numerous occasions.
Lex Greensill, the firm’s founder, had already had unsuccessful talks with the Treasury about securing funding through the emergency Covid scheme. However Greensill, which specialises in suppky chain finance, did benefit from £400m of loans from CBILS despite the official limit being just £50m.
It has also been revealed that Cameron did not sign up to the Register of Consultant Lobbyists, which he himself set up to try and increase transparency around lobbyists.