Let's be frank, when has a lobbyist been prosecuted and what law has been broken? There isn't one and Cameron is now a private citizen anyway. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on his part and although his reputation has been dented, he is unlikely to suffer much from the whole affair.
Exclusive: Downing Street today became embroiled in the “biggest lobbying scandal in a generation” after new evidence emerged of attempts by David Cameron to influence the Government.https://t.co/yid7k8ANkg
— The Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) April 10, 2021
Sunak is different. He is Chancellor and subject to the ministerial code. He is also widely tipped as the next leader of the party and has a well developed media operation already. He has most to lose. The seriousness of it all might be seen in the release of text messages between him and Cameron. Only two or three were published and I assume they were the least damaging ones.
Of course, under Johnson the ministerial code has been remade out of titanium, encased in reinforced concrete, and is now virtually unbreakable so I don't expect Sunak to go, regardless of what has happened. He will be damaged by it though, of that there is no doubt.
But one has to ask where all this information that The Times is publishing is coming from and who is likely to gain from it? I would suggest Michael Gove. He used to work at The Times and knows Murdoch well. Despite protestation to the contrary, I think he still sees himself as prime ministerial material and he may be seeing from the inside just what a pig's ear Johnson is making of Brexit and the consequences playing out on the streets of Belfast.
He will also be keenly aware of the rising support for Scottish independence, being Aberdeen born and bred. Johnson is very unpopular north of the border and is not intending to visit to support Tory candidates at the forthcoming Holyrood elections, it's that bad. Gove may see himself as the saviour of the Union (don't laugh).
Looking at the Tory parliamentary party it's difficult to discern much in the way of talent and I think Gove knows Sunak is his biggest rival so it would make perfect sense to blacken his reputation or even force him out. Or am I being too cynical?
Gove hasn't been seen about much and seems to be keeping a low profile, always a good sign that something is going on.
Anyway, if you haven't been following the story the key extract from The Times report (£) yesterday is:
"The Treasury offered to try to redesign one of Britain’s main pandemic business support schemes to accommodate a company connected to David Cameron, The Times can disclose.
"The chancellor’s top officials sought a way for the Bank of England to provide guaranteed cover for a type of finance in which Cameron’s employer Greensill Capital was the world’s market leader. Greensill wanted the Bank to take the hit if some of its corporate clients ran out of money in the coronavirus economic slump."
And in today's article:
"The former prime minister intervened on two fronts to promote the company run by disgraced financier Lex Greensill. The Sunday Times can disclose."
The two fronts are the lobbying of Treasury officials through Sunak and the NHS through Matt Hancock.
The two biggest issues that I assume are now showing bright and clear on Johnson's radar must be all the allegations of sleaze, of which Greensill is just one, and the continuing disturbances in Belfast. On the latter point the senior DUP MP Nigel Dodds is clearly pointing the finger at the NI protocol as the root cause of the unrest:
The DUP’s Lord Nigel Dodds tells @fatimamanji that the Northern Ireland Protocol “has led to this very, very great escalation of tension”.https://t.co/e2dtG7FeT4
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) April 10, 2021
This is despite the best efforts of the pro-Brexit press to claim otherwise. I cannot see tensions being eased for a long time. Even if the NI protocol is scrapped it will take months if not years to negotiate something else - if indeed there is anything else.
We are now starting to see the price of Johnson's rush to "get Brexit done" at all costs.
