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Lex Greensill has accused Kemi Badenoch of “interfering” in an insolvency case “for political ends” as the last Conservative government sought to protect David Cameron from scrutiny for his involvement in a lobbying scandal.
The financier, whose companies paid Cameron millions of pounds, claimed that the current Tory leader used her former ministerial position as business secretary to restructure an inquiry into his activities.
Greensill alleged that the move was made to protect Cameron as he was elevated to the House of Lords in November 2023 and brought back into government as the foreign secretary.
The allegations were made in a letter sent to the current business secretary, Peter Kyle, as Greensill contests the possibility of being disqualified from company directorships for up to 15 years.
Greensill claimed the decision to omit Cameron’s involvement from the Insolvency Services’s inquiries meant the case against him should be dropped because it was “based on allegations that have no merit and little or no evidence”.
In the letter, Greensill accused Badenoch of overseeing an insolvency case in 2023 that was structured to deliberately exclude scrutiny of Cameron’s role.
rIn the letter, sent on 28 October, Greensill asked Kyle to re-evaluate the insolvency case against him in light of claims of government interference.
“I honestly believe on the basis of the facts that Mrs Badenoch and the previous Conservative government interfered in this case for political ends. Their motive was to deflect from allegations that could implicate Lord Cameron in any suggestion of wrongdoing,” Greensill wrote.
“This excised that part of the companies’ [Greensill group] activities with which he was so closely involved so that he could be elevated to the House of Lords and the position of foreign secretary, without at the same time being embroiled in these proceedings.
“In so doing the resulting case against me is based on allegations that have no merit and little or no evidence to support them. I invite you to investigate these matters.”
Greensill, a banker with farming roots in rural Australia, was given access to the heart of government during Cameron’s tenure at No 10. In 2012, Greensill shared business cards showing that he had an official No 10 email address and was working under the title “senior adviser” in the prime minister’s office. Greensill then hired the former prime minister as an adviser in 2018.
After the UK wing of the Greensill group went into administration in March 2021, Cameron was widely criticised for using contacts made while prime minister to personally lobby politicians and senior civil servants on the group’s behalf.
He sent WhatsApp messages to the then chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and text messages to a former top Treasury civil servant, Sir Tom Scholar, during the height of the Covid pandemic.
Greensill’s collapse led to criminal investigations that are continuing in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. Cameron’s conduct is not thought to be the subject of those investigations.
Badenoch was the business secretary in 2023 when the Insolvency Service launched an inquiry into Lex Greensill and began proceedings to disqualify him from managing a UK firm.
The collapse of Greensill Capital (UK), according to evidence provided by the Insolvency Service, came about because of its exposure to the Gupta Family Group (GFG), Greensill’s letter said.
Cameron was a senior adviser to GSUK, whose roles included lobbying ministers to bring about the authorisation of Greensill Capital as an approved lender under the coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme.
The Insolvency Service’s inquiries into his dealings before November 2023, when Cameron became foreign secretary, scrutinised Greensill’s dealings with GFG, Greensill has claimed.
But after November 2023, the Insolvency Service’s interests in GFG were dropped, thus excluding Cameron’s involvement, according to sources close to Greensill.
“It is clear that the decision to structure the case in this manner was taken by the IS in its decision to serve notice of proceedings against me on 15 November 2023. This was within days of the Rt Hon David Cameron (as he then was) being appointed to the cabinet as foreign secretary and shortly before his elevation to the House of Lords,” Greensill wrote.
Cameron was formally appointed to the position as foreign secretary on 13 November 2023. The Insolvency Service has since admitted data breaches after a press officer spoke to a Times journalist about their inquiries into Greensill days after Cameron’s appointment.
Cameron’s office has declined to comment. The Conservative party has been approached for comment.
A government spokesperson said: “As this is an ongoing matter, we would not comment.”
