A Government agency leaked its plan to disqualify failed financier Lex Greensill from running a company to deflect negative publicity from David Cameron’s government return, a court heard.
Lawyers for Greensill claim a newspaper was briefed of the Insolvency Service’s move against their client in November 2023.
Protection: David Cameron was caught up in a lobbying scandal involving Lex Greensill
At the High Court in London, Gavin Millar KC said it was part of a strategy to protect the appointment of Cameron as Foreign Secretary by Rishi Sunak from bad press, after a lobbying scandal had engulfed Greensill and Cameron.
The former is taking legal action against the Department for Business and Trade, which oversees the Insolvency Service, over ‘misuse of his private information’.
According to lawyers for Greensill, The Times was briefed of the Insolvency Service’s (IS) move against their client and given the ‘green light’ to publish a story on 15 November 2023.
Mr Millar said a senior press officer emailed a reporter at the newspaper to tell him there was now ‘white smoke’ for an article after asking for a delay previously.
The barrister also argued that the IS along with the Serious Fraud Office and British Business Bank agreed that Lord Cameron would not be included in legal proceedings in a series of meetings held the week before.
Greensill claims together the decisions amount to a strategy to protect the appointment of Cameron as Foreign Secretary on 13 November, by the former Prime Minster Rishi Sunak, from bad press.
Sunak’s decision was already highly controversial given the previous lobbying scandal which engulfed both Greensill and Lord Cameron.
In what became known as the Greensill affair, Lord Cameron informally lobbied the Government on behalf of Mr Greensill’s companies between 2018 and 2021 for them to be accredited as a lender for Covid business loan schemes.
Lex Greensill outside the High Court earlier in March where he appeared at a previous hearing
An inquiry later found Lord Cameron’s actions were within the rules and he was not required to register as a lobbyist, before he returned to Rishi Sunak’s government.
Mr Millar told the High Court in London: ‘There was a very peculiar decision taken to email to the media that Mr Greensill was alone being pursued by way of the disqualification notice and imply there is nothing to see in relation to Lord Cameron.
‘This was to focus attention on my client as the sole wrong doer and keep it away from Lord Cameron’s return to government.
‘It was no coincidence that the notice, indicating intended proceedings against solely my client, was suddenly decided upon and finalised in the way it was and sent in the very week that Lord Cameron’s appointment was announced.’
The hearing before Mrs Justice Steyn heard that lawyers for Greensill wanted to amend the parameters of their case against the government to include evidence of the leaks and efforts to protect Lord Cameron.
Greensill is taking legal action against the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), which is responsible for the IS, over alleged misuse of his private information.
Justice Steyn granted their application.
Lawyers for Greensill also successfully argued that minutes from the meetings between the IS, Serious Fraud Office and British Business Bank should be disclosed.
This means Greensill’s lawyers will now be able to review what was discussed at the meetings when the decision to focus on their client solely, rather than Lord Cameron as well was made.
The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this month that this secretive meeting had taken place.
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