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Today’s daily politics briefing
David Cameron did “absolutely nothing wrong” by lobbying the Treasury on behalf of his employer Greensill Capital, a Tory minister has said.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s defence of the former Tory leader comes after Labour called for an inquiry into his relationship with the scandal-hit bank.
This follows a report in the Sunday Times suggesting that Mr Cameron’s friend Lex Greensill had “privileged access” to government departments during his time in Downing Street.
Labour has suggested that his company Greensill would not have collapsed, putting thousands of steel jobs at risk, if the Tories had backed its proposed changes to the Lobbying Act in 2014.
Speaking on Monday, Keir Starmer said “there’s got to be an inquiry, we need to get to the bottom of what happened, who spoke to who and what effect did it have”.
In Brexit news, the Children’s Society has warned that thousands of European children living in care in the UK face being left with no legal status.
Mark Russell, the charity’s chief executive, said the fact that 2,500 children had yet to be granted settled status was “simply unacceptable”.
Thousands of European children in UK face care ‘cliff edge’
Thousands of European children living in care in the UK face being left with no legal post-Brexit status, the Children’s Society has warned.
The warning comes after it was revealed that 2,500 EU nationals in the children’s care system – around 28 per cent – have not been granted settled status yet.
Mark Russell, chief executive of the Children’s Society, said: “No child should ever have to face the uncertainty and limbo that comes with being undocumented but it seems thousands of EU children, who are supposed to be in the care of their local authority, could very soon face this cliff edge. This is simply unacceptable.”
Our social affairs correspondent May Bulman reports:
Rory Sullivan30 March 2021 09:00
Starmer to campaign in Hartlepool on Tuesday
Labour leader Keir Starmer will travel to Hartlepool on Tuesday to lend his support to Paul Williams, his party’s candidate in the upcoming by-election there.
The vote on 6 May will be a litmus test for the strength of the party in its former industrial heartlands, following the collapse of the so-called “red wall” in the last general election.
Mike Hill, the Hartlepool Labour MP who left parliament earlier this month, was first elected with a majority of 7,650 in 2017. However, this margin shrank to 3,600 votes in 2019.
Rory Sullivan30 March 2021 08:40
Minister says former PM did ‘absolutely nothing wrong’ over Greensill lobbying
David Cameron did “absolutely nothing wrong” by lobbying the Treasury for state-backed loans for his employer Greensill Capital, a Tory minister has said.
Greensill later collapsed, leaving thousands of steel jobs at risk.
Kwasi Kwarteng defended Mr Cameron on Tuesday against Labour’s calls for an inquiry, claiming that a lack of transparency was “not a problem in this case”.
Rory Sullivan30 March 2021 08:21
Labour urges inquiry into David Cameron’s relationship with Greensill
Labour has called for an inquiry into former prime minister David Cameron’s links to the collapsed financial services firm Greensill Capital.
Keir Starmer said “we need to get to the bottom of what happened, who spoke to who and what effect did it have”, following allegations that Lex Greensill was given “privileged access” to government during his friend Mr Cameron’s time in No 10.
Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports:
Rory Sullivan30 March 2021 08:08
Morning, and welcome to The Independent’s rolling politics coverage.
Rory Sullivan30 March 2021 08:02
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