London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Mar 09, 2026

David Cameron personally promoted Greensill to investors

David Cameron personally promoted Greensill to investors

Former Prime Minister David Cameron personally promoted Greensill Capital to investors before the controversial company collapsed.

BBC Panorama discovered Mr Cameron appeared with the company's founder, Lex Greensill, at an event hosted by the Swiss bank Credit Suisse in 2019.

The collapse of Greensill in March has left the bank's clients facing billions of dollars in losses.

Mr Cameron says there was no wrongdoing in any of the actions he took.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson told BBC Radio Four's Today programme on Tuesday that Mr Cameron had been "absolutely cleared" of any wrongdoing by two independent investigations.

He added he had made himself "available to parliamentary scrutiny", which was "the right thing to do".

Mr Cameron worked for the company as a part-time adviser for two-and-a-half years after stepping down as prime minister.

Panorama has also discovered documents indicating his role earned him about $10m before tax.

Mr Cameron's spokesman has said his remuneration was a private matter.

The June event Mr Cameron attended was called "The Future of Supply Chain Finance", and the audience were wealthy Credit Suisse clients.

Credit Suisse was marketing and selling Greensill investments at the time, and the bank told investors they were low risk.

Investors thought their money was being loaned to companies that were awaiting payment for goods and services they had sold.

The loans were supposed to be backed up by unpaid invoices, but earlier this year it was revealed that some of the invoices simply did not exist.

'Disclosures'


US court papers show how between 2018 and 2021, Greensill lent $850m of investors' cash to a US coal company called Bluestone Resources.

Only $70m of that money was secured against real invoices for coal that Bluestone had actually sold.

Investors did not know it, but the remaining $780m was only backed by predicted coal sales that may or may not happen in the future.

Lex Greensill told Panorama that this type of financing was commonplace in the financial services industry.

He said the predicted Bluestone business was all "based upon future trade that is likely to occur with current customers".

Panorama discovered that was not true.

The programme obtained the names of the companies that Lex Greensill said were current customers of Bluestone.

Six of the companies said they were not Bluestone customers and they weren't planning to buy its coal in the future.

Lex Greensill later told Panorama the coal buyers did not have to be current customers. Bluestone only had to state it expected to make the sales at some future point and Greensill was not obliged to make checks, he said.

Mr Greensill denied misleading investors. He said his company made all the appropriate disclosures to Credit Suisse and the Swiss Bank was "solely responsible for making any disclosures to their investors".

He said the loans were always secured against assets and personal guarantees, and were backed up by insurance that would pay 100% of any shortfall.

Credit Suisse says its focus is on returning cash to investors and that 59% has been returned so far.

Mr Cameron's spokesman told Panorama he was neither a director of Greensill, nor involved in any lending decisions, and that he had no special insight into what ultimately happened.

The spokesman said: "It is also preposterous to suggest that he would work for any company if he was aware that it was behaving improperly, or was in any way seeking to mislead investors."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Roman Abramovich Signals Legal Fight if UK Seeks to Seize Chelsea Sale Funds
UK Ready to Back Emergency Oil Reserve Release as Middle East Conflict Pushes Prices Higher
Study of 40,000 Articles Sparks Debate Over Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias in UK Media
US and UK Army Chiefs Strengthen Cooperation on the Future of Armored Warfare
Britain’s Search for the Next ARM Intensifies as Startups and Investors Target the Semiconductor Frontier
Three US Strategic Bombers Arrive at RAF Fairford as Iran Conflict Intensifies
Cancer Death Rates in the UK Fall to the Lowest Level on Record
UK Government Bond Yields Retreat Slightly After Sharp Spike Triggered by Middle East Conflict
UK Chancellor Warns Middle East War Could Push Inflation Higher
UK Prime Minister Warns Iran Conflict Could Drive Up Prices and Threaten Economic Stability
Trump Declines UK Offer to Deploy Aircraft Carriers to Middle East Amid Iran Conflict
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Return to Australia After Seven Years for Philanthropic and Business Engagements
UK Government Signals Independence From Washington as Cooper Says Britain Does Not Agree With Trump on Every Issue
UK Experts Warn AI Chatbots Are Fueling Surge in Claims of Organised ‘Satanic’ Ritual Abuse
UK Political Parties Divided Over Strategy as Iran Conflict Reshapes Foreign Policy Debate
Britain Discloses Secret Military Repair Hubs Operating Inside Ukraine
Trump Says US No Longer Needs UK Carrier Support After Delayed Offer Amid Iran Conflict
Why Britain Has Become Involved in the US-Israel Military Campaign Against Iran
UK Gas Storage Falls to Under Two Days as Iran Conflict Jolts Global Energy Markets
UK Warned to Brace for Economic Shock as Iran War Drives Global Energy Price Surge
Starmer and Trump Hold First Call After Public Dispute Over Iran Conflict
UK Dentists Returned £1.3 Billion to Government as Shift Toward Private Care Accelerates
Expert Warns UK Must Build Emergency Food Stockpiles to Prepare for Climate Shocks or War
UK Plans Charter Flight to Evacuate British Nationals from Gulf as Regional Conflict Disrupts Air Travel
Families of Zimbabwe’s Liberation Fighters Call on Britain to Help Locate Skulls Taken During Colonial War
Iran’s Ambassador Warns Britain to ‘Be Very Careful’ Over Deeper Role in Expanding Middle East War
UK Military Leadership Defends Britain’s Defensive Role in Expanding Middle East Conflict
Four U.S. Strategic Bombers Arrive in Britain as Iran War Intensifies
Soham Murderer Ian Huntley Dies After Violent Attack in High-Security Prison
UK Lawmakers and Experts Condemn Scale of Overseas Human Remains Held in British Museums
Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Placed on Standby for Potential Deployment
United Kingdom Confirms U.S. Military Using British Bases for Operations Targeting Iranian Missile Sites
Starmer Defends UK Role in Iran Conflict After Renewed Criticism from President Trump
Blue Owl Reveals £36 Million Exposure After Collapse of UK Lender Serving Wealthy Clients
UK Asylum Reform Plan Triggers Fierce Debate Over Border Control and Humanitarian Impact
US Stealth Bombers Head to UK Base as Trump Issues Stark Warning to Iran
UK Deputy Prime Minister Says Legal Case Could Exist for British Strikes on Iranian Missile Sites
Investigators Link Mysterious Parcel Fires Across Europe to Russian Intelligence Operation
Debate Intensifies Over Britain’s Legal Justification for US Military Operations Launched From UK Bases
Britain Faces Heightened Energy Price Risks as Iran-Linked Tensions Threaten Global Oil and Gas Supplies
British Counter-Terror Police Arrest Four Suspected of Spying on Jewish Community for Iran
Axel Springer Agrees $770 Million Deal to Acquire Britain’s Daily Telegraph
Iceland Supermarket Drops Trademark Challenge Against Icelandic Government in Long-Running Naming Dispute
UK Defence Secretary Visits Cyprus Following Scrutiny of Britain’s Response to Drone Attacks
Questions Grow Over Britain’s Military Readiness as Response to Iran Conflict Draws Scrutiny
UK Offers Failed Asylum Seeker Families Up to Forty Thousand Pounds to Leave Voluntarily
Saharan Dust Could Bring ‘Blood Rain’ to Parts of the UK as Weather Systems Shift
UK Deploys Additional Typhoon Fighter Jets to Qatar and Helicopters to Cyprus Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
Experts Urge Britain to Accelerate Renewable Energy Push as Global Conflicts Drive Up Costs
British Public Shows Strong Reluctance to Join Wider War in Iran
×