The Lobbying Scandal: ACOBA on the ropes

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

News, Politics, Government

4.6 • 252 Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2021

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The relationship between a failing business and a former prime minister, lobbying in British politics, the rules that guide both ministers and civil servants, and the wider state of standards in public life. Along with former prime minister David Cameron, the Greensill saga has now dragged a growing list of former and current government ministers and officials into its orbit. And it shows no sign of calming down. So what are the latest developments, what rules have been broken, what rules aren’t good enough and will the various inquiries now launched actually fix anything? A special INSIDE BRIEFING EXTRA brings together IfG’s experts on ministers, civil servants and standards in public life to make sense of it all – and look at the current rules and what now needs to change. With Hannah White, IfG deputy director and a former secretary of the committee on Standards in Public Life Tim Durrant, IfG associate director, former civil servant and lead for IfG work on ministers Alex Thomas, IfG programme director and a former civil servant at the heart of government Presented by Catherine Haddon, IfG senior fellow Audio production by Candice McKenzie See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to this edition of Inside Briefing Extra, the podcast from the Institute for Government.
0:15.3	It's now been over a month in which British politics has been dominated not by developments in the fight against
0:21.2	COVID, nor even by that old familiar Brexit, nor by impending elections in local and devolved
0:27.2	governments. Instead, increasingly, it's former Prime Minister David Cameron who's dominating
0:32.4	the front pages, and five years after he left, his name is again front and centre in Parliament. In the last few
0:39.9	days, the row has blown up further beyond the relationship between a failing business and a former
0:45.2	Prime Minister. Many are now asking fundamental questions about lobbying in British politics,
0:51.0	the rules that guide both ministers and civil servants, and the wider state of
0:55.7	standards in public life. This story has seen a growing list of former and current government
1:01.1	ministers and officials dragged in, and it shows no sign of calming down quite the opposite.
1:06.8	So we've sounded the IFD alarm and dragged a stellar trio away from their frequent media appearances to help us make sense of it all and look at what it says about the current rules and what needs to change.
1:17.9	Hannah White is our deputy director and a former secretary of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Hi, Hannah.
1:24.3	Hi, Kath.
1:25.6	Tim Durant is IFG Associate Director leading our work on ministers. Hello, Tim. Hi, Kath. Tim Durant is IFG Associate Director, leading our work on ministers. Hello, Tim.
1:30.9	Hello, hello.
1:31.9	And Alex Thomas, IFG Program Director and a former civil servant at the heart of government. Hi, Alex.
1:38.3	Hello, Kath.
1:39.5	Okay, let's start with the basics. Tim, can you give us an overview of the row thus far and the latest developments?
1:47.0	Absolutely. As you said, a lot of this is centred around allegations about David Cameron.
1:51.0	We've seen various reports in the papers looking into both his links with this firm Greensill, this finance firm, when he was Prime Minister and also more recently,
2:02.0	when he was Prime Minister, the boss of the firm Lex Green Sill, was apparently working in
2:07.4	some capacity inside Cameron's government and was appointed by Jeremy Hayward, the then
	...

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