Lex Greensill: scandal-hit leader to be questioned by MPs over firm’s collapse and lobbying

Scandal-hit financier Lex Greensill will be questioned by MPs over the collapse of his firm and the lobbying controversy centred on former prime minister David Cameron

MPs on the cross-party Treasury Committee will quiz the boss on Tuesday afternoon on the demise of Greensill Capital, which jeopardised 5,000 steelmaking jobs in the UK.

The committee’s inquiry is also investigating how Mr Cameron lobbied Chancellor Rishi Sunak over access to Government-backed coronavirus loans for Greensill.

Ahead of his appearance, the MPs are expected to publish correspondence received from the subjects of the inquiry after they were issued with a series of questions.

Mr Cameron, who was employed as an adviser to Greensill after leaving Government, will appear before the Commons committee on Thursday.

A series of investigations is under way into the role the Conservative played in securing Whitehall access for Mr Greensill.

Among the demands, committee chairman Mel Stride requested a full timeline of contacts that Treasury officials and ministers had with Mr Cameron and other Greensill representatives

The senior Tory MP also asked Mr Cameron to share the full texts he sent the Chancellor, which the Treasury has declined to publish.

Who is Lex Greensill?

Alexander David Greensill, known as “Lex” Greensill, is an Australian businessman best known for setting up Greensill, a financial services company focused on derivative financial products and supply chain finance.

Early on in his career, he was an unpaid adviser to David Cameron’s government, founding Greensill Capital in 2011.

In 2017, he was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by Prince Charles for services to business.