Boris Johnson learned that a Tory donor had funded the refurbishment of the Number 11 flat from media reports in late February, it is claimed
Lord Geidt says Boris Johnson was not aware David Brownlow had settled bill - said to be £200,000 - directly with the supplier on Oct 22
Lord Geidt mildly censures Johnson for not having a more ‘rigorous regard’ for how the flat would be funded. He says that this was unwise
He says that the prime minister ‘might reasonably expect’ to be curious about the arrangements
Matt Hancock committed a ‘technical’ breach of the ministerial code by failing to declare that a family firm -which he has a 20% stake in - had won an NHS contract
Lord Geidt says in mitigation that Hancock was unaware of contract and that he acted with ‘integrity throughout’
Boris Johnson acted ‘unwisely’ by failing to take more of an interest in who was funding refurb of his Downing Street flat, Lord Geidt finds
But he castigates officials - who were informed that a Tory donor had paid for it - for not telling the PM, saying he was ‘ill-served’
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, acknowledges the ‘shortcomings’ of officials in failing to tell Boris Johnson that his flat had been paid for by a Tory donor
As Geidt acknowledges, however, these officials were ‘managing their own very difficult decision questions’
All of which leads to a question:
Is it really incumbent on officials to tell the Prime Minister that the cost of refurbishing his flat was met by a Tory donor?
There’s an argument that Lord Geidt is placing a higher burden of probity on officials than he is on the PM himself
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Cummings claims PM was 'very upset' by suggestion that Henry Newman could be behind leak
'If Newman is confirmed as the leaker then I will have to fire him, and this will cause me very serious problems with Carrie as they're best friends'
He says PM suggesting closing inquiry
Cummings says Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary, authorised the PM's official spokesman to tell the media that neither he nor Lee Cain, the director of comms, were the 'lockdown leakers'
He says PM himself confirmed *in writing* that neither he nor Cain were the leakers
How David Cameron lobbied Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Gov of the Bank of England, on behalf of Greensill:
On March 5 at 9.44, Cameron emailed Cunliffe directly:
'Do you have a moment for a quick word?'
Cunliffe at 10:55
'Of course, Can I get my office to arrange a call?'
At 5.27pm, Cameron emails James Benford, then private secretary to Governor, to arrange a meeting between Lex Greensill and officials at Bank of England
'GC is now world's largest provider of Supply Chain finance & has mandate with UK govt. We would be keen to step in and help'
James Benford, governer's private secretary, emails Cameroni back at 18.23 suggesting that 'Lex/ his team speak to Tom Mutton and Rhyr Phillips who respectively head up our Fintech Hub and our Sterling markets division'
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