London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Ex-UK PM Cameron grilled over links to bankrupt finance firm

Ex-UK PM Cameron grilled over links to bankrupt finance firm

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday he never suspected that a financial services company he lobbied for would go under, threatening thousands of jobs at a steel firm it helped finance.
Cameron was summoned to answer lawmakers’ questions about his efforts to win government funds for Greensill Capital. His involvement with the firm has spurred inquiries into political lobbying in Britain.

The former Conservative Party leader is a key link in a chain of contacts between government ministers, civil servants and Greensill, which collapsed in March. The bankruptcy forced the owner of Liberty Steel, which employs about 5,000 people, to seek a British government bailout. Greensill was one of the company’s key financial backers.

Cameron told Parliament’s Treasury Committee he had “no sense at all” that the company was in danger.

“There was certainly no sense of jeopardy” at board meetings, he said.

Cameron became a part-time adviser to the firm two years after he left office in 2016. Greensill Capital was founded by Australian banker Lex Greensill — a former adviser to Cameron’s government.

During the coronavirus outbreak, Cameron sent text messages to U.K. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and emailed the Bank of England in an effort to secure government-backed loans for Greensill under a program to help companies hurt by the pandemic. He also lobbied Health Secretary Matt Hancock on behalf of a Greensill product that would have allowed health care workers to receive advance payments on their salaries.

Cameron said he was motivated by a desire to help support British workers and businesses “in the economic turmoil caused by COVID” and not by the prospect of making millions from his Greensill shares.

“I was paid an annual amount, a generous annual amount, far more than I earned as prime minister, and I had shares,” said Cameron, who earned about 200,000 pounds ($280,000) a year when he was U.K. leader.

“I absolutely had a big economic investment in the future of Greensill, I wanted the business to succeed,” he said. But he insisted the amount he stood to make was “a private matter.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government has launched its own investigation into lobbying, led by a lawyer, but opponents doubt it will get to the truth.

Opposition parties are calling for tougher rules on contacts between business representatives and government officials, saying Britain’s laxly enforced lobbying regulations leave the door open to corruption.

Cameron said his appearance before the committee, by video link, was “a painful day.”

“I abided by the rules that were in place,” he said. “But rules alone are never enough.

“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. We need to think differently and act differently.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×