Chair of committee that exposed civil servant s Greensill role not seen anything like it Eyebrows raised at Greensill role - Pickles
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The chair of the committee that exposed how the former government chief commercial officer was able to take a job at Greensill Capital while still working in Whitehall has said he s not really come across anything like it before .
Lord Pickles Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) revealed how Bill Crothers worked as a part-time adviser at Greensill for the last three months he was at the Civil Service.
On Thursday, he gave evidence to the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) amid acute concern over the affair, which has seen the government accused of a return to Tory sleaze .
A former Home Office boss has said he was “absolutely amazed” to learn a top civil servant was allowed to work as a part-time adviser at Greensill Capital while still in Whitehall and called for more scrutiny of Civil Service hires.
Sir David Normington, who led the department for five years until 2011, said it is “essential” for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which scrutinises appointments of top civil servants when they leave Whitehall, to sign-off on new moves.
It comes after it emerged that former head of government procurement Bill Crothers began working for Greensill as a part-time adviser to the board in September 2015 – in a move approved by the Cabinet Office – and did not leave his role as Government chief commercial officer until November that year.
Lord Pickles insisted Andrew Cumpsty s experience had been very useful in the work of the body.
He said the former Tory councillor was among a range of names put forward to ministers for a post on the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, and praised the brave decision to select him.
According to the Cumpsty Communications website, the firm aims to deliver the very best communications, stakeholder engagement, and government relations advice and support .
It is registered with the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, and the Acoba website spells out the interests of its board member.
Lord Pickles insisted Andrew Cumpsty s (pictured) experience had been very useful in the work of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
Boris Johnson today backed Lord Pickles after the government watchdog warned over a lack of boundaries in civil service links to business and said excuses are being used to avoid checks.
The PM said he thoroughly agreed after the peer, head of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, delivered a damning assessment of the revolving door between Whitehall and the private sector.
The former Cabinet minister said his eyebrows raised the full quarter-inch when it emerged procurement chief Bill Crothers had been allowed to join Greensill as an adviser in September 2015 alongside his £149,000 role.
The permission was given through an internal conflicts process at the Cabinet Office - meaning he was never required to run it past Acoba.
The public should be given a “full and frank” explanation as to how a top civil servant was allowed to work as a part-time adviser at Greensill Capital while still in Whitehall, according to Lord Pickles.
The chairman of the committee which vets the appointment of senior ministers and officials told MPs the Bill Crothers case highlighted “a number of anomalies within the system”, and that his was not an “isolated” situation.
Mr Crothers, a former head of Government procurement, began working for collapsed firm Greensill as a part-time adviser to the board in September 2015 – in a move approved by the Cabinet Office – and did not leave his Civil Service role until November that year.