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 over 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 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.
In the letter, dated 28 October, Greensill accused Badenoch of overseeing an insolvency case in 2023 that was structured to deliberately exclude scrutiny of Cameron's role. He wrote: '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, who had access to the heart of government during Cameron's tenure as prime minister, later hired Cameron as an adviser in 2018. After the UK wing of the Greensill group went into administration in March 2021, Cameron was criticised for lobbying ministers and civil servants on the group's behalf. The Insolvency Service's inquiries into Greensill's dealings initially scrutinised his links to the Gupta Family Group (GFG), but after November 2023, those interests were dropped, excluding Cameron's involvement.
Greensill claimed the decision to omit Cameron's involvement meant the case against him should be dropped because it was 'based on allegations that have no merit and little or no evidence'. He has asked Kyle to re-evaluate the insolvency case in light of claims of government interference.
