Labour is urging the Chancellor to stop hiding behind junior ministers and answer
questions in Parliament about his role in the Greensill lobbying
scandal.
It comes as reports suggest the Chancellor is confused about who
was responsible for decisions to hand Greensill Capital access to
hundreds of millions of pounds of public money through the CLBILS
Covid loan scheme.
Sunak is refusing to come to Parliament to respond to questions
about why he opened the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption
Scheme (CLBILS) to Greensill, allowing it access to at least £400
million of government-backed loans.
His claims that the scheme is nothing to do with him or his
Department simply don’t stack up. Here’s five reasons why:
- It was the Chancellor who announced the new government-backed
loans on 3 April 2020, when he said “We have also listened to the
concerns of some larger businesses affected by COVID-19 and are
announcing new support so they can benefit too”.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-strengthens-support-on-offer-for-business-as-first-government-backed-loans-reach-firms-in-need
- The Chancellor didn’t hide this from anyone – he made it
clear on his Twitter page that this was his scheme and his
launch: https://twitter.com/rishisunak/status/1245998565509513216?s=21
- When civil servants sought a ministerial direction on CLBILS
on 16 April 2020, they were clear who was behind the scheme: “For
this reason, on 3 April the Chancellor announced his intention to
provide a new scheme to support firms that have a turnover of
more than £45m per annum, to be known as the Coronavirus Large
Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).” Thttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/891470/2020-04-16_AO_Direction_letter_on_CLBILS.pdf
- As was the minister who gave that direction on 16 April 2021:
“The Chancellor has given me approval to proceed and I am
prepared to provide support for the introduction of this scheme
as soon as practicable.” https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/891461/2020-04-16_SoS_to_AO_CLBILS_Direction_Letter.pdf
- And when the government reports on CLBILS on its own website,
it's very clear which department is publishing the data: HM
Treasury: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-treasury-coronavirus-covid-19-business-loan-scheme-statistics
, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the
Treasury, said:
“It’s laughable that the Chancellor is trying to claim that his
department wasn’t responsible for oversight of the Covid public
lending schemes he set up. The Coronavirus Large Interruption
Scheme literally had the Chancellor’s name all over it. He
launched it and he took the headlines for it.
“But today he’s nowhere to be seen - missing in action and
running scared of scrutiny for his decision to hand Greensill
Capital access to hundreds of millions of pounds of
taxpayer-backed loans.
“The Chancellor is happy to stand in front of a camera when it
suits him and splash public cash on boosting his brand, but won’t
answer questions about his involvement in the biggest lobbying
scandal for a generation. What has got to hide?”
Ends
Notes to editors
- The Chancellor has refused to attend an urgent question
tabled by Labour on his decision to grant Greensill Capital
access to the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme
(CLBILS), sending a junior minister from the BEIS Department in
his stead, https://commonsbusiness.parliament.uk/document/46572/html
- This morning’s Playbook quoted Treasury sources his as saying
"the scheme is not led by the Treasury but rather the department
for business, energy and industrial strategy."
