From the SNP Press Office today:

Boris Johnson’s Tory government is under mounting pressure over the “rampant cronyism” driving his government, with the SNP demanding senior Cabinet ministers come before Parliament to disclose their full exchanges with David Cameron.

SNP MP Stewart Hosie warned that the Tory government was “rotten to its very core” as revelations around the Greensill scandal continue to develop.

The Greensill episode has so far revealed that David Cameron lobbied the Chancellor and Health Secretary, as well as senior Government officials, to try and secure access for Greensill Capital to taxpayer funded Covid loan schemes. He exchanged casual text messages with Rishi Sunak and took Matt Hancock to private drinks to discuss financial support for the firm.

Cameron was reportedly set to receive tens of millions of pounds through the shares that he held before the company collapsed.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Stewart Hosie stated that the “sustained lobbying” of two senior Cabinet ministers “raises serious questions about the access granted to government departments to firms with close links to the Conservative party.”

Commenting, the SNP’s Shadow Cabinet Office spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP said:

“While around 2.4 million people and businesses were left without UK government Covid financial support after a year of the pandemic, it turns out David Cameron had senior Cabinet ministers on speed dial and was casually exchanging text messages and arranging private drinks with them to access Covid cash and contracts.

“The serious revelations of the sustained lobbying of government ministers has yet again exposed the rampant cronyism at the heart of Boris Johnson’s Tory government.

“Given the seriousness of the issue and the litany of examples of Tory cronyism it is vital that Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock come before Parliament to explain their conduct and disclose their full exchanges with David Cameron.

“This Tory government is rotten to its very core.

“The Tories have form in attempting to kick scandals into the long grass, so while the belated announcement of an inquiry is welcome, it’s clear we need answers from Cabinet ministers now. They cannot use the inquiry as a cheap excuse to duck accountability.

“It’s clear that Scotland faces a choice of two futures – Tory cronyism under the broken Westminster system, or the opportunity to build a fairer future as an independent country in a post-pandemic referendum.

“The issue at the election will be this: who has the right to decide Scotland’s future after the pandemic – people in Scotland or Boris Johnson? Only both votes SNP on May 6th can put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”

ENDS

Notes for editors:

Letter to the Prime Minister available upon request.

Greensill scandal developments: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-cameron-lobbied-no-10-and-hancock-for-greensill-nht3x2c5z

Cameron took Greensill for private drink with Matt Hancock to discuss NHS payment scheme: https://news.sky.com/story/cameron-took-greensill-for-private-drink-with-hancock-to-discuss-nhs-payment-scheme-report-12272159