David Cameron lobbied the Treasury’s top civil servant on behalf of a financial services firm that later collapsed. Sir Tom Scholar told a committee of MPs that the former prime minister called him on his work mobile and sent him text messages in March and April 2020 in a bid to get Greensill Capital involved
Politics
MPs have accused the government of a “missed opportunity” in failing to give more detailed plans on how Britons might be able to enjoy foreign holidays this summer. Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions, international travel won’t be allowed any earlier than 17 May. In a report earlier this month, the
Sir James Dyson has said it is “absurd to suggest” his company was doing anything other than trying to follow the rules, after it was reported that the prime minister personally promised him he would “fix” an issue over the tax status of his employees. The BBC reported that it had seen a series of
The government has abandoned plans to hold White House-style televised briefings – despite spending £2.6m on a new studio. Boris Johnson’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, who had been expected to front the new media briefings, will now become spokeswoman for the COP26 climate change summit. Ms Stratton said: “I am delighted to be starting this
A firm linked to the lawyer tasked by the prime minister with looking into the Greensill Capital lobbying scandal has been given £7m in government contracts over the last year. Boris Johnson has asked top lawyer Nigel Boardman to lead an investigation into the now-collapsed finance firm’s activities in government and the role its founder,
Travel from India to the UK is being banned for non-UK and Irish citizens from 4am on Friday after the country was added to the travel “red list”. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the “vital but difficult” decision was made due to a new COVID variant first identified in India, of which 103 cases have
The prime minister’s trip to India next week has been cancelled, Downing Street has confirmed. India is experiencing a surge in cases of COVID-19, while there are fears about the emergence of a new variant of the virus in the country. Announcing the decision, the British and Indian governments said in a joint statement: “In
It will take five years for some hospitals to catch up with the backlog of patient care caused by the coronavirus pandemic, NHS Providers has warned. The trusts in England worst impacted by the crisis are between three and five years away from returning to pre-COVID levels, according to the association. It also claims that
David Cameron did not do anything wrong when lobbying for Greensill Capital and “meticulously observed the rules”, the environment secretary has told Sky News. George Eustice also said current rules on lobbying are “pretty good”. Asked about the former prime minister’s conduct, Mr Eustice said: “Has he done anything wrong? Well, on the face of
Boris Johnson should relinquish his right to decide when possible breaches of the ministerial code warrant investigation, according to the chair of the Committee for Standards in Public Life. In a letter to the prime minister, Lord Evans argued the power to launch a probe into the behaviour of members of the government should instead
A government adviser became a director of Greensill Capital months after taking on his Cabinet Office role – in the latest link between the now-collapsed finance firm and Whitehall to emerge. David Brierwood, a former employee of the Morgan Stanley investment bank, was appointed as a crown representative by the Cabinet Office under David Cameron’s
The foreign secretary is set to reveal which UK projects around the world will be axed or reduced following a decision to slash foreign aid spending by almost a third, Sky News understands. A statement to parliament was scheduled for this week but had to be postponed because of the death of the Duke of
Whitehall’s spending watchdog has launched an investigation into Greensill Capital’s involvement in government-backed COVID support schemes prior to the firm’s collapse. The National Audit Office (NAO) on Friday announced the latest Westminster inquiry into Greensill, which is at the centre of a lobbying row involving former prime minister David Cameron. In June last year, the
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is being accused of “cronyism at the heart of government” by Labour after it was revealed he has been given shares in a family firm that has done business with the NHS. Mr Hancock has declared in the Commons register of MPs’ interests that he now owns shares in Topwood Ltd,
The chair of the watchdog which exposed how the former government chief commercial officer was able to take a job at Greensill Capital while still working in Whitehall has said he’s “not really come across anything like it before”. Lord Pickles’ Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) revealed how Bill Crothers worked as a part-time
Senior civil servants have been told they have until the end of the week to declare any other jobs they hold outside government. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said there was “acute concern” at the top of the civil service about issues that have emerged in the David Cameron lobbying affair. On Tuesday, it was revealed