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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Yohannes Lowe and Rhi Storer

Greensill: Labour bid to establish wider inquiry into lobbying fails – as it happened

Early evening summary

Here is a quick recap of the main political developments from today:

That’s all from me for today. Our coverage continues on our global coronavirus live blog. It’s here:

The House of Commons is now debating the second opposition day motion, on the strength of the UK armed forces.

Labour motion for select committee into government lobbying fails

Ayes: 262. Noes: 357. This means that Labour’s bid to establish a committee to investigate the lobbying has failed.

At PMQs earlier, Starmer urged the Conservatives to support his party’s plans for cross-party MPs’ inquiry into lobbying, saying: “The prime minister should be joining us.”

Updated

MPs are now voting on the Labour motion to establish a Commons select committee to investigate government lobbying. We will bring you the results as they come in.

Updated

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, has arrived in London as part of the international effort to resolve the Brexit challenges in Northern Ireland.

In the biggest diplomatic push since the first round of Brexit negotiations, he will meet the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, and the Brexit minister, Lord Frost.

He is also scheduled to meet Sir Keir Starmer and the shadow Northern Ireland and foreign secretaries Lisa Nandy and Louise Haigh.

“The programme will include discussions on recent developments in Northern Ireland, on British-Irish and EU-UK relations and the implementation of the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol, and on foreign policy issues, in the context of Ireland’s membership of the security council,” said a statement issued by the Irish government.

Updated

A loophole in the ministers’ code of conduct has allowed officials to keep the lobbying of companies like Greensill Capital off public records, according to an ex-civil servant, who says ministers are not bound to report unofficial calls, texts and emails, my colleague Kalyeena Makortoff writes.

You can read the full story here:

Updated

David Cameron’s actions “leave a bad taste in the mouth”, Andrew Bowie, the Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire said, adding that his lobbying on behalf of Greensill “does tarnish us all”. However, Labour’s motion is “blatant, tawdry politics,” he adds. MPs are discussing the lobbying investigation before the vote.

Updated

PA Media reports:

Downing Street has defended the production of a film about the UK’s “extraordinary” vaccine programme which is yet to be released more than a month after a trailer was posted online.

Officials have refused to set out how much A Beacon of Hope: The UK Vaccine Story has cost, or how much was paid for the dramatic music which accompanied the online teaser.

The trailer was released on 10 March, with the full version billed as “coming soon” and officials indicating it would have been released later that week.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said “the documentary will be published” and insisted “this was produced entirely in house by No 10 staff as part of their work” and within the existing budget for the digital communications team.

Updated

Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Con) said:

The thing David Cameron will be concerned about more than anything else is the damage to his reputation that’s been done by this episode. Frankly that will be with him for a very long time.

It is hard not to talk about the Greensill scandal that has enveloped the Conservative party, so Jessica Elgot and Martin Kettle do just that in today’s episode of Politics Weekly. Rory Carroll then speaks to the Northern Ireland justice minister and leader of the Alliance party, Naomi Long, about what last week’s riots show us about political leadership there. Plus, Aubrey Allegretti convenes Lord Mandelson, the former MP for Hartlepool, and Will Tanner of the Conservative thinktank Onward, to make some predictions about that all-important byelection in Hartlepool next month.

Updated

Boris Johnson’s anti-corruption champion has said ministers are not disclosing who they are meeting fast or clearly enough.

John Penrose (Con), who is married to Dido Harding, told his colleagues that it was “much too difficult at the moment to link up who ministers have met with, who the lobbyists are working for, with who is donating money to which political party”.

Updated

The Guardian’s political correspondent Peter Walker with his take:

This just in from openDemocracy. Its investigation found that Greensill Capital has been receiving payments from the government’s wage subsidy scheme.

That’s it from me today – Rhi Storer – for now. I will hand the blog back over to Yohannes Lowe for the rest of the afternoon.

Updated

An interesting anecdote from Lewis Goodall, BBC Newsnight’s policy editor, as the Greensill scandal rumbles on:

Updated

Downing Street has defended Nigel Boardman, who Boris Johnson has appointed to lead a review into Greensill Capital, as being a “distinguished legal expert” after Labour called him a “very good friend of the Conservative government”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “I think anyone can see that Nigel Boardman is a distinguished legal expert.

“He was asked to lead this review independently, he has been asked to do it thoroughly and promptly and we trust him to do that.”

Asked whether he was a “friend” of the Tory administration, the No 10 official replied: “He is an independent reviewer.”

After Labour’s fears of “whitewash” following Boardman’s earlier review of pandemic procurement was put to him, the spokesman added: “We would encourage anyone not to prejudge what will be an independent and thorough inquiry into this issue.”

Updated

William Wragg, the chair of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, said Labour’s motion to create a new committee “is not a no confidence vote in me”.

He said he had not spoken out during this week of mourning because: “I did not think it seemly” – noting he does not think it was wise of David Cameron to have released his statement on Sunday.

Wragg highlights his session with Lord Pickles tomorrow and reveals plans to have the cabinet secretary in the next fortnight. “I would ask the house to be assured we will pursue every possible line of inquiry with our witnesses and will conduct ourselves without fear or favour,” he adds.

Updated

Chloe Smith, the constitution minister, responded from home as she is receiving treatment for cancer.

She echoed Boris Johnson’s comments earlier, saying: “We are concerned [that] some of what has emerged in recent weeks, most of what this complex motion proposes, is already being done.

“We are opposing the motion today because it seeks to duplicate the work that is already in the gift of parliament and its committees and ... work that is already being undertaken by the government,” she added.

Updated

Continuing on from my earlier post, Rachel Reeves, has said voting against the motion in Labour’s bid for a parliamentary investigation will make MPs “part of the government attempt to cover up Tory sleaze”.

She said: “All members here today should reflect on who they are here to serve, their constituents and their country or narrow party political interests.

“Vote for a proper investigation to close the loopholes, to rein in the lobbyists and to lift standards in this great democracy in which we all have the privilege to serve.”

Updated

Rachel Reeves, the shadow Cabinet Office minister moving Labour’s bid for a parliamentary investigation, has told the Commons: “Having refused to respond to any questions at all for 40 days, David Cameron chose a period of national grief, hoping there would be less political criticism and less scrutiny. It is cynical and it is shabby.”

Reeves also described Cameron’s statement as “toe-curling”, adding: “He’s not sorry for his conduct, for the texts and the drinks, but he is sorry he got caught, and he’s sorry that his shares are now worthless.”

She said questions also needed to be asked of current ministers, noting: “When it comes to lobbying, it takes two to tango. For every former minister lobbying, there is someone in power being lobbied.”

Updated

Hi there, this is Rhi Storer taking over from Yohannes Lowe this afternoon. Please feel free to send me any contributions to rhi.storer@guardian.co.uk or alternatively you can contact me on Twitter.

Here is video of Vicky Foxcroft’s (Lab) question about sign language at PMQs (see earlier post):

Updated

This is from Parly, which describes itself as a journalism project that focuses on the House of Commons and the Westminster village:

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA union, claims the inquiry – to be conducted by the corporate lawyer Nigel Boardman – will focus on the conduct of civil servants including the late Sir Jeremy Heywood, the former cabinet secretary, but skate over the role of ministers.

Penman told the Guardian:

This smacks to me of a classic attempt to deflect attention from current ministers and how they responded to Cameron’s lobbying. Yes, an inquiry has been set up and yes, of course it needs to look at supply chain finance and Greensill’s role in government, but that is where the information released on the formal inquiry ends. There is no detail of whether it will look at the specific allegations around his lobbying of ministers.

You can read the full story here:

Updated

MPs will shortly start a debate on the Labour motion, which calls for a broader lobbying inquiry by a cross-party panel of MPs.

It will propose setting up a committee of MPs with the power to ask witnesses to give evidence and answer questions – including David Cameron himself and the cabinet ministers who were lobbied by the former prime minister, including the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and the health secretary, Matt Hancock.

Updated

Following Starmer’s call for other parties to back the vote for a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry into the Greensill scandal, the shadow secretary of state for international development, Preet Gill, has urged Tory MPs to join with Labour:

Updated

PMQs is now over. The House of Commons has been briefly suspended and will resume shortly for the return of parliamentary business.

Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, challenges Johnson over the recent controversial race report, which was seen as downplaying structural inequalities.

She asks if No 10 “redrafted the report to change the narrative, and does he agree with me that this report should now be withdrawn?”

Johnson says he does “not agree with everything” in the report, and he will be responding in due course.

Updated

Vicky Foxcroft, the Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford and the shadow minister for disabled people, asks a question in sign language, saying afterwards: “If the prime minister doesn’t understand, why does he still not have sign language at his press briefings?”

She asks what the point of the new £2m press briefing room is if it is not inclusive for disabled people, to which Johnson says he will write to her as soon as he can.

Updated

Boris Johnson can't remember last time he spoke to David Cameron

Johnson said he cannot remember when he last spoke to “Dave”, in reply to a question posed by Labour’s Ruth Cadbury about when he last talked to the former prime minister David Cameron, who is engulfed in the Greensill scandal.

The prime minister said: “The honest truth is I cannot remember when I last spoke to Dave but if she wants to know if I have had any contact with him about any matters that have been in the press, the answer is ‘no’.”

Updated

'See you in court,' Ian Blackford tells Johnson over UN convention on children's rights

The SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, asks Johnson why the government is trying to strike down a law passed in Scotland to embed the UN convention on the rights of the child into the country’s law.

“How does protecting children’s rights in Scotland threaten the Tory government in London,” he asks.

Boris Johnson notes the government ratified the UN convention three decades ago.

“This is simply an attempt by the SNP to stir up constitutional chaos,” he adds.

Blackford asks Johnson to withdraw the legal challenge “otherwise we’ll see you in court”.

Johnson replies that the SNP should “improve their shameful record on education”.

Updated

Starmer has called on other parties to join Labour in the vote this afternoon on the parliamentary-led inquiry. His questions are up for the week.

Updated

Starmer, noting he helped bring MPs to justice over the expenses scandal, says the “broken” system needs to be overhauled, as he calls for a parliamentary-led inquiry into the scandal. He asks if Johnson will vote with the opposition for this inquiry. The prime minister said this won’t do a “blind bit of good”, comparing the process to being like someone marking their own homework. Starmer says this is “the return of Tory sleaze”.

Updated

Starmer asks the prime minister if he knows of any other government official who has commercial links with Greensill or any other lobbying role while still working in government.

Johnson says the Labour leader should let the review know if he has any relevant information, adding that Starmer is being advised by Lord Mandelson.

“Perhaps in the interest of full transparency, Lord Mandelson can be encouraged to disclose his other clients Mr Speaker,” he said.

Updated

'This is the return of Tory sleaze'- Keir Starmer

Starmer says sleaze is “at the heart of this Conservative government”, and that the Greensill scandal “is just the tip of the iceberg”.

He said: “Does this prime minister accept there is a revolving door – indeed an open door – between his Conservative government and paid lobbyists,” to which Johnson replied saying his government has been tough on lobbying, and has put in a register for lobbyists.

Johnson said it was the Labour party who opposed the Lobbying Act in the 2019 general election campaign.

Updated

Keir Starmer asked Johnson if the lobbying rules are fit for purpose in their current form.

The prime minister said he shares widespread concern about reports, and says he thinks top civil servants should be able to engage in business.

He says he has asked for an independent review of the arrangements. The report will be in June.

Updated

Johnson started off PMQs by paying tribute to Shirley Williams, Dame Cheryl Gillan and Peter Ainsworth.

Updated

PMQs is due to start in 10 minutes. We will be covering it live on the blog. It will be the first time Boris Johnson has faced MPs after rows over lobbying broke out. While Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is expected to lead on this, questions on the protests in Northern Ireland and the easing of curbs in England are among the other topics that could also come up.

Updated

Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion, has written an op-ed for the Metro about the Greensill scandal. You can read it here.

Updated

This is from the account of Private Eye magazine:

Updated

At present, ministers are prevented from lobbying for two years after they leave government.

But Francis Ingham, the director general of the Public Relations and Communications Association, has said the Lobbying Act should be “opened up”.

He said the act should be widened to include people who are directly employed by firms to lobby, as opposed to just external lobbyists, as is the current situation.

Ingham told Sky News: “We agree with Gordon Brown that there should be a five-year ban,” adding: “We actually think it should be broader than he said – so it applies not just to business. It should cover the whole of the lobbying industry, whether it’s charities or trade unions.”

Updated

The former civil servant Jill Rutter said there was a danger the government seemed to think it did not have to “abide by the rules”.

Asked whether the current administration was a “sleazy government”, she told the Today programme:

I think it is tracking up a record that might come back to haunt it. Last summer I was writing stuff about Robert Jenrick – remember that thing with the Westferry development, the planning decisions and some of the other decisions he has made? I think this is a government that doesn’t think it has to abide by the rules and that gets you into a whole bunch of trouble. At the moment it doesn’t seem to be paying a high price, but who knows.

Updated

The second leaders’ debate of the Holyrood election campaign took place last night, hosted by STV, and it was a rather more lively affair than the first BBC effort, assisted by a format that allowed politicians to grill each other across the floor.

Nicola Sturgeon was challenged on hospital failures, concerns that young people are facing stressful assessments as they return to school even though formal exams have been cancelled this year and admitted that her government took its “eye off the ball” regarding the number of drug-related deaths across the country.

Scotland has the highest rate of drugs-related deaths in Europe.

Inevitably, independence featured significantly: asked by Sturgeon if he’d respect the outcome if the elections returned a pro-independence majority in May, the Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, sidestepped the question.

The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, was challenged about previous comments he had made about Gypsy and Traveller communities, when he had promised tougher action against them.

Ross said he had already apologised for those remarks, saying he should have answered the question “far better”.

Sturgeon also hinted at proposals for a universal basic income in the SNP’s forthcoming manifesto, which will be published on Thursday.

Updated

Labour has said the Boardman investigation has “all the hallmarks of a Conservative cover-up”, drawing comparisons with the Priti Patel bullying inquiry, when Boris Johnson ignored the advice of civil servants and kept the home secretary in post.

The opposition said it would aim to have the proposed report to the house no later than 18 October 2021 and that it should consist of 16 cross-party MPs and be chaired by a backbencher, elected by fellow MPs.

The former FT editor Lionel Barber also has a take on the wider significance of the Greensill controversy:

Here is a clip from Rachel Reeves’ GMB appearance this morning:

Updated

The chairman of the Commons defence committee, Tobias Ellwood, said a review commissioned by Downing Street into the Greensill affair should be “allowed to take their course”.

He told Times Radio:

The idea suddenly that we all, with the limited knowledge that we have, can make a judgment on this – it is political opportunism.

Updated

This is an interesting story by the Guardian’s political correspondent Peter Walker on former lobbying scandals:

This is from Claudia Webbe, the independent MP for Leicester East, who was suspended from the Labour party in September.

Labour, which wants a broader lobbying inquiry by a cross-party panel of MPs, has had its call for a full parliamentary inquiry into lobbying and the contacts between government and Greensill Capital rejected.

Updated

The British government has been accused of failing to take transparency seriously after an openDemocracy investigation found that the Whitehall watchdog responsible for vetting lucrative jobs taken up by former ministers has met just once since December 2019, writes Peter Geoghegan.

The article, which you can read in full here, was published a few days ago but is relevant to the growing scandal over Greensill Capital.

This just in from Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner:

Updated

Here is some of more of Rachel Reeve’s interview with GMB.

The shadow Cabinet Office minister said:

MPs have a chance today to vote to have a special select committee to take evidence in public, to be able to require and summon witnesses but also documents and get to the bottom of this. This is much wider than just about what David Cameron has done, this is about what is happening at the heart of government today. We need answers, we need changes to the rules and we need to do everything we can to ensure that something like this never happens again because it undermines trust in our democracy and at the moment tens of thousands of jobs are on the line because of the collapse of Greensill Capital, including in Hartlepool and Rotherham, important jobs in our steel industry, which is such an important part of our manufacturing sector. This really matters, we need answers and MPs have a chance to vote for a proper inquiry today.

Good morning everyone. I will be running the blog today so feel free to drop me a message on Twitter with any story tips.

The controversy over Greensill Capital’s influence within government has deepened, as it emerged that a senior civil servant started working for the finance firm as an adviser while still serving in Whitehall.

As reported by the Guardian, Cabinet Office sources were said to be “deeply concerned” at the revelation that official approval was granted for Bill Crothers to begin advising Greensill in September 2015 while still employed in the civil service.

Crothers, who was the government’s chief commercial officer, left that role two months later and went on to become a director of Greensill, gaining a shareholding potentially worth £5.8m before the lender collapsed last month.

The former prime minister David Cameron, who was a special adviser to Greensill’s board and partly paid in share options, was previously revealed to have sent texts and emails to ministers as he sought approval for policies that would benefit the lender.

Labour is calling for a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry into Cameron’s role on the company’s board, saying the independent inquiry set up by the government under Nigel Boardman does not have a broad enough remit.

The party wants all those potentially involved in the scandal – including Cameron, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock – to appear before parliament to give evidence to a select committee.

There is a crunch opposition day vote on a parliament-led inquiry into Greensill this afternoon.

Crothers denies any wrongdoing and Cameron said he did not break any codes of conduct or rules on lobbying and that he welcomes the investigation launched by Boris Johnson.

Senior Labour figures, however, have said Cameron’s lobbying on behalf of the failed company indicated why transparency rules need changing.

Doing the media rounds this morning, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, Rachel Reeves, told GMB:

One of the things Labour is recommending, and the government could do very easily, would be to tighten up the rules about lobbying that former ministers, prime ministers and civil servants can do. At the moment, if you are a consultant lobbyist working for one of the big lobbying companies, you have to register as a lobbyist and declare all the meetings and contacts you’ve made but if you are employed in-house by a company to do exactly the same lobbying, you don’t have to be on that register. And that is why David Cameron is saying, ‘I didn’t break the rules’. Now, if it is the case that Cameron didn’t break the rules, then I think it says something about the rules and that those rules need to change so there is proper transparency so we can see what former ministers and prime ministers are doing.

Here is the agenda for today:

12:00 Prime Minister’s Questions

13:00pm Opposition Day Debates on Committee to investigate the lobbying of government

13:30pm A statement on Greensill Capital

For coronavirus news from around the world, do read our global live blog:

Updated

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