Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is alleged to have earned $10 Million from financial services company Greensill Capital before its collapse.
A letter received by the BBC’s Panorama program details that Cameron made about the stagerring amount before tax from Greensill during a two-and-a-half-year period.
Former Prime Minster’s spokesman denied the claim saying the former Tories leader never received such funds.
The spokesman said, “As he was neither a director of the company nor involved in any lending decisions, he has no special insight into what ultimately happened. He acted in good faith at all times, and there was no wrongdoing in any of the actions he took. He made the representations he did to the UK Government not just because he thought it would benefit the company, but because he sincerely believed there would be a material benefit for UK businesses at a challenging time. He had no idea until December 2020 that the company was in danger of failure.”
“David Cameron has been clear all along that there are important lessons to be learned from this whole episode and, as such, he has been pleased to provide evidence to the government’s Boardman Inquiry, and to two parliamentary select committees,” the spokesman added.
The Treasury Select Committee of members of Parliament cleared Cameron of breaking any lobbying laws, but said that he showed a “significant lack of judgment”.
The opposing Labout Party MPs have expressed dissatisfaction with these reports. Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, called this “an absolute joke” on Twitter.
She further said that it was “ludicrous” that Cameron “walked away with 10 million for two-and-a-half years’ part-time work for a company that collapsed, risking thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money.”
“The fact that David Cameron was cleared of any wrongdoing, proves that the rules that are supposed to regulate lobbying are completely unfit for purpose.” She added. “It’s created a wild west where the Conservatives think it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else.
“This is money most of us cannot even imagine, but for David Cameron, it was just a part-time gig using his Tory contacts for huge personal gain.”
Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy took to Twitter to say that this “is what Conservatives are all about”.
According to Panorama, Cameron lobbied the British government to act as a new investor for the firm. This included texting ministers and important personalities such as deputy Bank of England Governor Jon Cunliffe. The Bank of England turned Greensill down, but it was approved as a lender in June 2020 for emergency schemes due to COVID-19.
The ex-PM took up the role of an adviser to Greensill in August 2018, only two years after his resignation. The firm collapsed in 2013, leading to a series of inquiries into Cameron’s involvement with its business.
