Labour calls on Chancellor to publish all ‘tax breaks by text' and Greensill communications
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Labour has today called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to “demonstrate a
commitment to transparent government” by publishing records of all
his texts, calls and secret meetings with lobbyists about changes
to tax rules and Covid-19 support schemes. On Wednesday, Prime
Minister Boris Johnson promised to publish all his private
communications relating to Covid contracts as the sleaze scandal
engulfing the Conservatives continues to grow. Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor Anneliese...Request free
trial
Labour has today called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to “demonstrate a commitment to transparent government” by publishing records of all his texts, calls and secret meetings with lobbyists about changes to tax rules and Covid-19 support schemes. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to publish all his private communications relating to Covid contracts as the sleaze scandal engulfing the Conservatives continues to grow. Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has today written to her counterpart asking him to follow suit in order to “restore public trust that your decisions and those of HM Treasury were taken exclusively in the public interest”. It follows the publication of new emails by the Bank of England and the Treasury last night revealing that officials at both organisations were aware that Greensill Capital was in financial trouble as early as March last year – three months before it was granted access to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer-backed loans through accreditation to the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS). Further emails show Greensill discussed its application to that scheme with Treasury officials on 24 April 2020 – the day after the Chancellor texted Mr Cameron to say he had “pushed the team” to consider an “alternative” with the Bank of England. In a letter to Dodds on 8 April 2021, the Chancellor confirmed that the criteria for accreditation to the CLBILS scheme were set by the British Business Bank “in consultation with BEIS and HM Treasury”. Sunak is yet to confirm or deny the existence of any further communications with Mr Cameron, who lobbied him personally on behalf of Greensill Capital to make changes to Government Covid-19 support schemes. He has also not commented following revelations that the Prime Minister offered to change tax rules following a direct request by Sir James Dyson, the Chief Executive of Dyson Ltd. The texts reveal that the Prime Minister offered to ‘fix it’, referring to the issue of the tax status of Dyson staff, and that he was then in communication with the Chancellor, who later confirmed to the Prime Minister that the issue was “fixed”. Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said: “Rishi Sunak has been running scared of his role in the sleaze that is engulfing the Conservative Party, but the longer he hides from scrutiny the more questions it raises. “We now know that his officials were fully aware that Greensill Capital was in financial trouble months before the Government opened the door for it to lend hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer-backed loans. “But we don’t know what the Chancellor told David Cameron he “pushed his team” to do a day before Greensill’s affiliation to a Covid loan scheme was discussed at the Treasury, or what role he played in dishing out tax breaks by text to Sir James Dyson.
Notes to editors
Dear Chancellor, As you will know, in 2020 several changes were made to the Statutory Residence Test, a series of tests that determine whether an individual is resident in the UK for tax purposes. These rules are designed to ensure that those who are functionally resident in the UK cannot be resident in a lower-tax jurisdiction for tax purposes. On 21 April 2021 it was reported that you were contacted by the Prime Minister following a direct request by Sir James Dyson, the Chief Executive of Dyson Ltd, to change tax rules governing the SRT covering coronavirus disease-related activities. The texts also reveal that the Prime Minister offered to ‘fix it’, referring to the issue of the tax status of Dyson staff, that he was then in communication with you, and that you later communicated to the Prime Minister that the issue was “fixed”. These exchanges raise the prospect that changes to tax law were made due to personal communication between Sir James Dyson and the Prime Minister, with your acquiescence. It is important that the public understands how those changes were made and for what purpose. Responding to questions about these exchanges in the House of Commons on Wednesday, the Prime Minister committed to “share all the details” of personal exchanges on Covid-related contracts. I am writing to ask if you will commit to do the same at the earliest opportunity. Reports of lobbying by Sir James Dyson this week follow on from others in recent weeks that revealed that you, as well as several of your ministers and officials, were personally lobbied by former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on behalf of Greensill Capital to make changes to Government Covid-19 support schemes. On 22 April 2021, several new documents were published by the Bank of England and HM Treasury. These documents confirm that both the Bank and your Department were informed that Greensill Capital was facing financial difficulties in March 2020. Despite this, Greensill was accredited to the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme in June. It’s application to that scheme was explicitly discussed with your officials on 24 April 2020 – the day after you texted Mr Cameron to confirm you had “pushed the team” to consider an “alternative” for Greensill Capital. Your officials also discussed Greensill’s accreditation to the scheme on 26 June and 2 July 2020. I request again that you also publish any and all private correspondence between you and Mr Cameron and any other Greensill representative in relation to discussions about Greensill Capital’s access to those support schemes, including the Covid Corporate Financing Facility and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Can you also confirm if your officials raised any concerns with the British Business Bank relating to Greensill Capital’s application to the CLBILS scheme after they were informed of its intention to accredit to the scheme on 24 April 2020? Every passing day brings new revelations about lobbying by external parties of the Government in which you serve, including direct personal communications between ministers and those parties. To restore public trust that your decisions and those of HM Treasury were taken exclusively in the public interest – and to demonstrate a commitment to transparent government – I urge you to publish all of your private communications relating to this lobbying as soon as possible. Yours sincerely, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
You were clear that we were still working through the design questions with the Bank. Like other schemes we have worked on it may never see the light of day. [Section 35(1)(a)] But assuming we did settle on something we thought would work we would then want to do some confidential market testing with them and other stakeholders. [Section 35(1)(a)] [Greensill – section 40(2)] said they were very pleased to hear this news. He mentioned that they had applied to be a CLBILS affiliate.
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