Former British prime minister David Cameron recently gave oral evidence to the Treasury committee and the public accounts committee, two senior panels of members of Parliament. He was questioned over the collapse of Greensill Capital and his intense lobbying efforts on behalf of the firm. Released phone and email records reveal Cameron relentlessly pursued top government ministers and officials at the Bank of England to include Greensill in a state-backed lending programme.
Cameron said he wanted the “business to succeed.” He said, “I was being paid, I had shares, I had an interest in it.” He added that personal interest “was not what motivated me.” The former PM opened his testimony saying the session marks a “painful” return to Parliament. He explained his motivations and stressed that he abided by all the rules in place on lobbying.
“But rules alone are never enough. We learned that in this place there are so many issues, personal conduct and codes of behavior and how such conduct and behavior appears and can be perceived, these things matter too. I believe there are important lessons to be learned. I completely accept that former prime ministers are in a different position to others because of the office that we held, and the influence that continues to bring,” he said.
When asked if he should have been more aware of the firm's financial difficulties, Cameron said he did not believe the company was in “any severe financial difficulty” in March and April 2020. He said Greensill founder Lex Greensill himself said the company only fell in difficulty in December last year. He added that he asked lots of questions and “sought all kinds of answers” about its operations.
He told the Treasury Committee that he had not broken any rules when he tried to influence ministers and officials. He said it had been “appropriate” for him to call and text ministers and officials directly.
