UK FINANCIAL CRIME INTEGRITY - TWO STEPS FORWARD, TWO [1/2] STEPS BACK

Cameron is back in the news for all the wrong reasons, having used his connections to his former colleagues to lobby for government support for the now-collapsed financial company Greensill Capital.  The now-collapsed financial company Greensill Capital [scandal] has revealed, once again, the gigantic and persistent flaw at the heart of Britain’s regulatory regime; one based on the old private school principle that decent chaps don’t tell other chaps how to behave.

Steve Goodrich, senior research manager at Transparency International UK SAYS:

• “The whole system doesn’t work; everyone knows it doesn’t work, everyone has known, for years, it doesn’t work.
• https://www.politico.eu/article/david-cameron-uk-latest-hidden-lobbying-greensill/

And

• David Cameron knew it didn’t work, which is exactly why his actions didn’t turn up anywhere on any official disclosure.

WHAT NEXT

The UK government has announced an inquiry into the affair.

Still, its track record on suppressing and/or ignoring and/or delaying previous inquiries does not suggest the outcome is likely to make much difference.

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-jennifer-arcuri-inquiry-b1823880.html
• https://www.itv.com/news/2021-03-24/pmqs-boris-johnson-under-scrutiny-over-uk-covid-response-as-he-faces-labour-leader-sir-keir-starmer

British lobbyists’ own lobbyist – the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) – have come out with six recommendations of its own to help repair the damage this rather sordid affair has caused.

• https://news.prca.org.uk/lobbying-industry-publishes-6-point-public-confidence-plan-for-reform-in-response-to-cameron-inquiry/?token=b346ca7256d4f7902689e5a94b8b5f59T8h%252Feq%252BX1bv2MQXFi5A1a8HJlhF7bY%252BuePOG6JA7LjTjJRpl7Q%253D%253D

The fact that one of the recommendations is that ministers should stop ignoring the rules that they are legally obliged to follow is a sign of quite how bad things have got.

PRCA Public Affairs Board Chair Liam Herbert said:

• “The Lobbying Act is unfit for purpose,”.
  “This inquiry is an opportunity for the government to reset its approach to lobbying regulation. Our industry has made concerted efforts uphold to public confidence but it’s now time for politicians to do the same.”

There is an increasing feeling that, under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK is neutering much of its previous pro-transparency legislation, whether that’s with regard to:

• Freedom of Information requests,
  • https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/freedom-of-information/uk-government-running-orwellian-unit-to-block-release-of-sensitive-information/

or

• The long-overdue register of offshore-owned property, which was supposed to go live in early 2021.
  • https://www.saplaw.co.uk/property-law-articles/764-new-register-of-beneficial-ownership-for-offshore-companies-owning-uk-property

The British government’s recent integrated review into foreign security was a missed opportunity to put the fight against Kleptocracy at the heart of what London does

• https://ace.globalintegrity.org/global-britain-enabling-kleptocracy/
• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/975077/Global_Britain_in_a_Competitive_Age-_the_Integrated_Review_of_Security__Defence__Development_and_Foreign_Policy.pdf

DAYS BEFORE BREXIT

But back in the days before Brexit, much of the international momentum for fighting corruption came from UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who – among other things – convened a large summit devoted to the topic in 2016.

• https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/anti-corruption-summit-london-2016

Considering the complicity of British shell companies, banks, lawyers, etc., in moving the world’s dirty cash, this always looked a bit like green-washing, but Cameron’s government did introduce some genuine innovations that put the UK ahead of the world.

• PUBLIC REGISTERS - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/31/public-register-firms-secret-owners-cameron
• CORRUPTION - https://web.archive.org/web/20170629003735/http:/www.transparency.org.uk:80/what-does-brexit-mean-for-the-uks-fight-against-corruption/

AND NOW WE SEE HIS TRUE COLOURS, WHAT A SHAME………………………………………

Sourced from

• Coda insights from Oliver Bullough Oligarchy newsletter.

https://www.codastory.com/newsletters/oligarchy/