London (AFP)
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron, implicated in a lobbying scandal shaking political and financial circles, admitted on Sunday, after a long silence, errors in his role of advising the bankrupt financial company Greensill.
Greensill Capital, which specializes in short-term loans, filed for bankruptcy in early March, endangering some of its clients, such as billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's steel empire, GFG Alliance.
Its fall also caused a stir in the British political class because of the role played by David Cameron for the benefit of the company, created by the Australian banker Lex Greensill.
The latter had been hired in Downing Street when Mr Cameron headed the government (2010-2015) and the British press noted contracts obtained by his company then through policies that he had helped to put in place.
He was notably accused of contacts with members of the government, including the current Minister of Finance Rishi Sunak in favor of Greensill or the Minister of Health Matt Hancock.
After weeks of silence, Mr. Cameron reacted in a long statement to the Press Association agency, assuring that he had violated "neither code of conduct nor government rule".
Having "however reflected at length" on this scandal, he admits that "important lessons must be learned:" I recognize, as a former Prime Minister, that communications with the government must take place exclusively through the most important channels. formal, so that there is no room for misinterpretation ".
Faced with the questioning, the Ministry of Finance published several messages sent last April by Rishi Sunak to Mr. Cameron, where he said in particular to have "pushed his team" to study a request from Mr. Cameron.
A parliamentary lobbying oversight body ruled that the former prime minister, a conservative like Rishi Sunak, did not break any rules by contacting a minister or senior officials directly.
On the other hand, the main Labor official in charge of the economy, Anneliese Dodds, estimated that "the Chancellor's messages to David Cameron raise very serious questions about possible breaches of the ministerial code" by Mr. Sunak.
Greensill had been approved to issue state-guaranteed government loans under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) large business program.
The fall of Greensill now puts the GFG Alliance on the verge of insolvency, which employs 5,000 people in the United Kingdom and 35,000 worldwide, with sites in France such as the Ascoval steelworks in Saint-Saulve (north) and the Hayange rail factory (Moselle).
© 2021 AFP