David Cameron Refuses to Reveal Pay Amount in Greensill Scandal

Politics

January 14, 2024 - Reading time: 2 minutes

David Cameron dodges questions over his pay in Greensill scandal Lord Cameron has denied he was paid £10million by the collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital, but refused to say how much he was paid by the scandal-hit company.

In a painstaking exchange, the foreign secretary declined to answer a barrage of interview questions over how much he earned lobbying for the company. The Greensill scandal saw the exposure of Lord Cameron’s aggressive lobbying efforts on behalf of Greensill Capital during the pandemic. He has consistently faced questions about his relationship with financier Lex Greensill, who set up the now defunct firm, and his extraordinary access to ministers and officials after leaving No10.

On Sunday he denied having been paid £10million to lobby for Greensill, but refused to say how much he did receive. He told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: "No that isn’t true." Lord Cameron deflected from the question by talking about his Alzheimer’s UK work, and declined to set the record straight by revealing how much he was paid. He said: "Because I was a private citizen, I had a number of different interests, the things I did, including important charitable work and I think as a private citizen you’re entitled to do that." And, after repeated questioning from Ms Kuenssberg, he repeated that he was a “private citizen” and had declared his interests since returning to the government.

The lobbying scandal which surrounded Lord Cameron’s work for Greensill sparked a series of inquiries at Westminster. And Greensill’s failure was estimated by a parliamentary inquiry in 2021 to have cost taxpayers up to £5billion - with the final burden born by the taxpayer not yet known. The former prime minister insisted he broke no rules on behalf of the firm – but admitted he should have communicated with the government through “formal channels” rather than via text and WhatsApp. He consistently attempted to secure access to a government-backed Covid loan scheme for Greensill.

Lord Cameron and his staff sent ministers and officials around 73 increasingly desperate emails, texts and WhatsApp messages relating to the collapsed firm in less than four months. He claimed it was “nuts” and “bonkers” for the firm to be denied the CCFF loans. A parliamentary investigation found Lord Cameron showed a “significant lack of judgment” over the lobbying saga.

DW Staff

David Lintott is the Editor-in-Chief, leading our team of talented freelance journalists. He specializes in covering culture, sport, and society. Originally from the decaying seaside town of Eastbourne, he attributes his insightful world-weariness to his roots in this unique setting.

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