Bill Crothers, govt's former head of procurement, became an adviser to Greensill Capital while he was a civil servant
The Cabinet Office gave him permission to take on a 'part-time advisory role' in Sept 2015
He didn't leave civil service until Nov '15
Here's Crothers himself on the extraordinary combination of roles as civil servant & adviser to Greensill
'It was seen as a way of me transitioning back into the private sector and was
supported by the Cabinet Office leadership
'The advisory role was not seen as contentious'
Crothers argued that he did not need to apply to Acoba to clear his position at Greensill because the role was 'captured under the conflicts of interest policy' for the Cabinet Office
So massive questions for the Cabinet Office about who authorised this extraordinary arrangement
Lord Pickles, head of Acoba, sounds furious
He's asked Cabinet Office what process for approving Crothers' appointment at Greensill was & how many other people it applies to
It looks like there's an extraordinary loophole at the Cabinet Office:
* Crothers was able to work as both civil servant & adviser to Greensill under Cabinet Office's conflict of interest policy
* He & Cab Office argue this meant he didn't have to apply to Acoba for clearance
Crothers implies he is not alone among senior servants combining their official roles with acting as advisers for companies
'This advisory role was not seen as contentious, and I believe not uncommon'
How many of them are there?
The review into Greensill and Cameron will now look at Crother’s dual role as a civil servant and adviser to the company
It will also look at the cabinet office policy more broadly of allowing civil servants to work part time in advisory roles for companies
Boris Johnson is personally concerned by the issues raised in the Crothers letter about the dual employment of civil servants as advisers to companies
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Whitehall sources told The Times that Boris Johnson asked Sir Alex Allan to change his report to state that there was not clear evidence of bullying at home office
Sir Alex refused and said he’s quit if the PM overruled him - which is exactly what happened today
No 10 tonight confirmed Boris Johnson spoke to Sir Alex about report but did not comment on whether he asked him to tone it down
‘As you would expect, the PM spoke to Sir Alex Allan to further his understanding of the issues
* Serious failings in leadership & an inadquete process for handling complaints
* Political interference in complaints
* There were 'unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination'
* Culture which 'at worst' could be said to accept anti-Semitism
The EHRC found *23* instances of political interference by Labour staff in anti-semitism cases, including decisions over whether to investigate or suspend
'We concluded that this was indirectly discriminatory and unlawful, and that Labour was legally responsible for it'
Antisemitism by 'ordinary' labour members:
* Diminished scale of Holocaust
* Expressed support for Hitler
* Compared Israelis to Hitler
* Claimed there was a 'witch hunt' in party
* Conspiracy theories about Rothschilds & Jewish power