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David Cameron Jacob King via PA Images

Boris Johnson launches independent review amid David Cameron lobbying row

The probe will examine how government contracts were secured by Greensill Capital.

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has commissioned a wide-ranging independent review into Greensill Capital, the collapsed financial firm for which David Cameron lobbied ministers.

Downing Street announced that lawyer Nigel Boardman is due to lead the probe, which will examine how British government contracts were secured by the company and the actions of the former prime minister.

Cameron accepted that he should have communicated with the government “through only the most formal of channels” rather than text messages to Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he acknowledged mis-steps over the controversy.

Breaking his weeks of silence, the former Conservative prime minister said in a statement to the PA news agency that, having “reflected on this at length”, he accepts there are “important lessons to be learnt”.

Downing Street said Johnson had called for the independent review to be launched into Greensill, which collapsed into administration in March, due to “significant interest” in the matter.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “The Cabinet Office is commissioning an independent review on behalf of the Prime Minister, to establish the development and use of supply chain finance and associated activities in government, and the role Greensill played in those.

“As you know, there is significant interest in this matter, so the Prime Minister has called for the review to ensure government is completely transparent about such activities and that the public can see for themselves if good value was secured for taxpayers’ money.

“This independent review will also look at how contracts were secured and how business representatives engaged with government.”

Leading the inquiry will be legal expert Boardman, a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who has previously conducted a review of Cabinet Office procurement processes.

Downing Street said Boardman will have “access to the documents that he needs” in his probe, which the Prime Minister wants to be completed “thoroughly” and “promptly”, according to his spokesman.

But Labour said the review, announced today, risks kicking the issue into the “long grass”.

Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves said: “This has all the hallmarks of another cover-up by the Conservatives.

“Just as with the inquiry into Priti Patel’s alleged bullying, this is another Conservative Government attempt to push bad behaviour into the long grass and hope the British public forgets.

“We need answers on Greensill now – that means key players in this cronyism scandal like David Cameron, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock appearing openly in front of Parliament as soon as possible to answer questions.”

The Sun reported that ministers and special advisers across Whitehall have been ordered to declare any contacts with Cameron.

Cameron’s predecessor, Gordon Brown, called for tougher rules to prevent former prime ministers lobbying within government, claiming it “brings public service into disrepute”.

Former Labour leader Brown said that former prime ministers should not be “lobbying for commercial purposes” and suggested legislation banning the practice for five years if existing rules cannot be made to work.

“I can’t comment on the individual detail of this but for me there are principles about public service – it cannot ever become a platform for private gain,” the former prime minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“Ministers must never be lobbying, former ministers, prime ministers, must never be lobbying for commercial purposes. Current ministers should not be entertaining such lobbying.

“If we can’t succeed in achieving this stopping by the sort of flexibility of the rules, we are going to have to pass laws to make sure that at least for, say, five years, no serving or former prime minister or minister is ever lobbying for any commercial purpose within government.

“It simply brings public service into disrepute.”

The row surfaced when it emerged that Cameron privately lobbied ministers, including with texts to Sunak, to win access to an emergency coronavirus loan scheme for his employer, financier Lex Greensill.

It was later reported that Cameron had arranged a “private drink” between Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Greensill to discuss a payment scheme later rolled out in the NHS.

The former prime minister – who was in Downing Street from 2010 to 2016 – said in a statement: “In my representations to government, I was breaking no codes of conduct and no government rules.”

He said that “ultimately” the outcome of his efforts to get Greensill’s proposals included in the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) was that “they were not taken up”.

“So I complied with the rules and my interventions did not lead to a change in the Government’s approach to the CCFF,” he added.

“However, I have reflected on this at length. There are important lessons to be learnt.

“As a former prime minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation.”

Questions had been mounting over his efforts to secure access for the finance company, which later collapsed, putting thousands of UK steelmaking jobs at risk because the firm was the main backer for Liberty Steel.

The Chancellor responded to the numerous private texts from Cameron by saying on 23 April last year that he had “pushed” officials to consider plans that could have helped Greensill.

Cameron also described the decision to exclude his employer’s firm from the multibillion-pound scheme as “nuts” in an email to a senior adviser to Johnson and pressed for the Chancellor to reconsider.

“What we need is for Rishi (Sunak) to have a good look at this and ask officials to find a way of making it work,” Cameron emailed on 3 April last year.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Oct 5th 2017, 7:47 AM

    Good news. More jobs, more money in the economy and more tax collected. Well done to Microsoft and the people working there who helped to make this happen. And people really think we should be increasing corporation tax.

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    Mute Hardly Normal
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    Oct 6th 2017, 12:52 AM

    @Nick Allen: when the likes of apple pay €50 on each million they earn and Starbucks pay €45 per million they earn then yes of course the corporate tax rate should be hired.. I earn €220 and pay €50 tax how’s that fair?

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    Mute Shakka1244
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    Oct 5th 2017, 7:44 AM

    Good news. A little known fact is IBM employ more in Ireland.

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    Mute Brian Cunningham
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    Oct 5th 2017, 7:50 AM

    @Shakka1244: Indeed, their campus out in Damastown is massive. It’s like a small town.

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    Mute Ciaran Whyte
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    Oct 5th 2017, 7:58 AM

    @Brian Cunningham: as do a tonne of other companies, like CRH, Paddy Power, Ryan Air, Musgrave, Apple, Primark etc. Etc.

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    Mute Sean
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    Oct 5th 2017, 8:27 AM

    @Brian Cunningham: a very small town in Leitrim perhaps.

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    Mute Steve
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    Oct 5th 2017, 8:59 AM

    If only they could have somewhre to live.

    49
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    Mute cortisola
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    Oct 5th 2017, 10:58 AM

    @Steve: This will be sales people with wages in 100k region so they easily afford living in Dublin.

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    Mute Ciaran Ó Fallúin
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:44 PM

    @cortisola: If 200 people earning 100k appear in the market, needing 200 places to live, the fact that they can “easily afford living in Dublin” means they take 200 properties from people who can’t afford to pay as much and would have a demand driven impact, pushing up prices.

    So @Steve is correct, news like this just highlights the need for emergency level response to the housing supply shortage Dublin is seeing at the moment.

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    Mute cortisola
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:51 PM

    @Ciaran Ó Fallúin: @Steve never said what you tell he said. You’re a liar and demagogue Ciaran.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Oct 5th 2017, 1:54 PM

    @Ciaran Ó Fallúin:

    Why do you think that the 200 people are not already living in Dublin?

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    Mute Ciaran Ó Fallúin
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    Oct 5th 2017, 4:10 PM

    @Nick Allen: Ok… so the 200 people live in work in Dublin and decide to go for these high paying jobs. Leaving, presumably, already reasonably high paying jobs, which need to be filled and so on. There is an increased size of the workforce whatever way you cut it.

    @cortisola If you don’t understand my point, I can’t help you with that.

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    Mute Eddie Byrne
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    Oct 5th 2017, 9:58 AM

    On the news this morning that most of the jobs are for foreign language speakers.

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    Mute Michael Reilly
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    Oct 5th 2017, 10:10 AM

    @Eddie Byrne: Brush up on your languages before you submit your CV.

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    Mute iMoan Brutal
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    Oct 5th 2017, 10:28 AM

    @Eddie Byrne: Well of course they are! Its the European centre. So most will have to be recruited from outside the country due to our backward education system. But most who come will be 20 somethings from around Europe who will spend the vast majority of what they earn here and pay a good chunk of income tax. So a win-win for everyone.

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    Mute Peadar Rooney
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    Oct 5th 2017, 10:40 AM
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    Mute Darren Bates
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    Oct 5th 2017, 11:14 AM

    @Peadar Rooney: that’s the fault of those 73%.

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    Mute Peadar Rooney
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    Oct 5th 2017, 11:52 AM

    @Darren Bates: Not really, its the education system. By the way, these jobs are for technically fluent foreign speakers, a rather advanced level of fluency which suits native language speakers.

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    Mute joe
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:26 PM

    @Peadar Rooney: This is exactly why US companies need a European base. For all the naysayers going on about US tax moves and how it will affect Ireland, this is a perfect example of why these companies need a European base. It is much more likely that French, Spanish, German workers will move to Ireland than to the US. On top of the the US is trying to limit immigration as are the UK. Win win for Ireland. Even if these people are not Irish, they need to live here, buy food here, entertain themselves here, raise their children here etc etc etc. Irish people will likely benefit from this.

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Oct 5th 2017, 5:38 PM

    @iMoan Brutal: try being overt 50 here and looking for a job. It’s bloody disgusting and drives older workers to desperation. Most of these jobs also go to foreigners so what’s in it for Irish people who want to work?

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    Mute iMoan Brutal
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    Oct 11th 2017, 2:11 PM

    @Marc Power: Their taxes are paying your dole. Their spent cash is putting money into shops,pubs,etc. Try to understand you NEED to be able to speak fluent German to speak with German customers in Germany. Are there many over 50 Irish “non foreigners” who have fluent Finnish out there looking for a job????? Try to understand the alternative is for these companies to employ people in those countries instead. now stop whinging and cop on

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    Mute Fred Jetson
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    Oct 5th 2017, 9:23 AM

    Good news. It’s always good to see jobs being created outside the canals of Dublin. At least they won’t add to the morning commute.

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    Mute Kal Ipers
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:16 PM

    @Fred Jetson: Yeah nobody on the Northside works in Microsoft.

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    Mute Fred Jetson
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    Oct 5th 2017, 2:13 PM

    @Kal Ipers:

    Pretty much, yeah.

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    Mute eastsmer
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    Oct 5th 2017, 9:49 AM

    Great news – just wondering however why they all need to be based in Sandyford – I am sure that there are lots of commercial parks available countrywide with sufficient network access.

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    Mute cortisola
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    Oct 5th 2017, 11:00 AM

    @eastsmer: Sandyford is still better than D2 area already filled with great number of international corporations tending to open their offices in City Centre..

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Oct 5th 2017, 1:56 PM

    @eastsmer:

    Perhaps because MS has its office in Sandyford

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    Mute Stevie Doran
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    Oct 5th 2017, 8:15 AM

    Who uses MS Office these days?

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Oct 5th 2017, 8:20 AM
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    Mute iohanx
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    Oct 5th 2017, 9:26 AM

    @Stevie Doran: (doh) ignorance is bliss eh

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    Mute cortisola
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    Oct 5th 2017, 11:01 AM

    @Stevie Doran: “Who uses MS Office these days?” – all poor people who cant afford Apple, something like 95% of the world.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:08 PM

    @cortisola:

    I use Office 365 on my Mac

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    Mute Stevie Doran
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    Oct 5th 2017, 10:46 PM

    @cortisola: google docs is free was my initial point

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    Mute Rob
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:27 PM

    @Eddie Byrne
    We’re laughing so as English is a foreign language ;)

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    Mute Rear Admiral
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    Oct 5th 2017, 12:35 PM

    good news. thank feck Steve ‘Ballbag’ Ballmer is gone, MS are doing much better things with Satya ‘Nutella’ Nadella

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