Greensill: David Cameron made multiple attempts to lobby Bank of England
David Cameron made multiple attempts to lobby Bank of England (BoE) officials over allowing collapsed financier Greensill access to the bank’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) scheme.
Documents obtained by Freedom of Information request show that Cameron contacted officials five times in total over the “incredibly frustrating” issue.
It is the latest saga in a lobbying saga that has led to accusations of “Tory sleaze” from the opposition.
The documents show that the former prime minister repeatedly contacted Sir Jon Cunliffe, one of the Old Lady’s deputy governor’s.
As he failed to gain any traction, Cameron’s emails show that Greensil’s growing irritation.
“Even a small participation of SCF (supply chain finance) in the CCFF would make a big difference in catalysing the market,” he wrote in an email of 22 April 2020.
A Bank write-up of that call said that most if it was taken up by “Lex explaining their business model”, while Sir Jon was “clear that Greensill would currently fall outside the boundaries of the scheme” and that changes to the parameters were a matter for the Treasury.
Cameron will be the centre of several inquiries by Boris Johnson and a suite of parliamentary committees on Greensill Capital’s links to the government.
The former Prime Minister contacted Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock on behalf of the supply chain finance firm in a bid to win government contracts and secure a bailout for the company.
The revelations have sparked calls for an overhaul of lobbying legislation.