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.
Greensill is merely the latest chapter in a long story of distorted decision-making and falling public trust
‘Gliding from a position of public responsibility into one of private gain is now the norm.’ David Cameron (left) and Lex Greensill in January 2020.
‘Gliding from a position of public responsibility into one of private gain is now the norm.’ David Cameron (left) and Lex Greensill in January 2020.
Thu 15 Apr 2021 01.00 EDT
Last modified on Thu 15 Apr 2021 06.34 EDT
Spare a thought for Britain’s ministers and mandarins. Making the right call in the public interest isn’t always easy when they’re endlessly having their ears bent by those with vested interests in their decisions. It is, however, their duty. But it’s one that has been compromised by public service becoming, for too many, just one part of a career in which acquiring the kind of wealth available only beyond Whitehall is a key objective.
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.
PACAC launches inquiry into Greensill lobbying scandal
Pickles warns of “much wider implications” if Cabinet Office cannot detail approvals given for officials’ second jobs
Lord Eric Pickles gives evidence to PACAC today
15 Apr 2021
Parliament’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee is to hold an inquiry into the Greensill lobbying scandal – the third probe into the government’s involvement with the collapsed financial firm to be confirmed so far this week.
PACAC chair William Wragg announced the move ahead of an evidence session with Lord Eric Pickles, chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. Pickles told MPs of his shock at learning the government’s former chief commercial officer Bill Crothers had been cleared to take up a role at Greensill as a second job while he was still a civil servant under an internal Cabinet Office process.