Hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is at increased risk due to a failure to conduct sufficient checks on the now-collapsed finance firm that David Cameron lobbied for, a committee of MPs has found.
A a new report by the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC), on the lessons to be learned from the demise of Greensill Capital, the group of MPs have scrutinised a decision to allow the firm to be a lender under government-backed COVID support schemes.
The government-owned British Business Bank approved Greensill as a lender for both the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), as well as the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).
Greensill loaned £400m under CLBILS, the maximum it was permitted to lend, and £18.5m under CBILS.
Image: The ex-PM with the firm’s founder, Lex Greensill, on a trip to Saudi Arabia in January 2020
But in March this year, Greensill – who employed former prime minister Mr Cameron as an adviser – filed for insolvency.
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In their report, the PAC found that “up to £335m of taxpayer money is at increased risk following the British Business Bank’s failure to conduct sufficient due diligence” into Greensill, when the firm applied to be an accredited lender under the COVID support schemes.
The MPs concluded that the Bank’s “approach to due diligence in accrediting Greensill was woefully inadequate” and criticised the Bank for striking the “wrong balance” between “making decisions quickly” during the pandemic and “protecting taxpayer interests”.
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“In the case of Greensill, the Bank was insufficiently curious about media reports questioning Greensill’s lending model, its over-exposure to borrowers, and ethical standards until problems were clear and hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money left exposed,” their report added.
They also found that “a lack of information-sharing across government” had “once again hampered sound decision-making in government’s response to the pandemic and allowed Greensill access to taxpayer-funded schemes”.
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Cameron questioned over messages sent to ministers
The PAC also said the government had “not yet identified the broader lessons from its accreditation of Greensill or from its COVID-19 business support schemes” and added it was “essential that these lessons are identified”.
In further criticism of the Bank, the MPs said it had been “insufficiently curious when identifying where money lent through the schemes, including by Greensill, has ultimately gone”.
In a series of recommendations, the MPs called on the Bank to review its accreditation process, and for itself, the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to publish a “full lessons-learned report” by July next year.
Mr Cameron has been reported to have made about £7m during his two-and-a-half years’ part-time work for Greensill before its collapse, including a salary of £720,000 a year.
Earlier this year, the ex-prime minister was revealed to have bombarded ministers and officials – as well as the Bank of England – with WhatsApps, texts and emails in his pursuit of winning Greensill access to government-backed COVID support schemes.
Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the PAC, said: “The British Business Bank only had to read the papers to be aware of serious questions about Greensill’s lending model, over-exposure to borrowers, and its ethical standards – yet it didn’t really start to delve into those issues until the problems were clear and hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money was already at risk.
“It professed itself ‘very surprised’ to discover where these taxpayer-backed loans had gone on its watch, in contravention of its own lending and accreditation rules.”
A government spokesperson said: “The government was not involved in the decision to accredit Greensill.
“The decision was taken independently by the British Business Bank, in accordance with their usual procedures.”
A power outage that shut Heathrow Airport earlier this year, causing travel chaos for more than 270,000 passengers, was caused by a “catastrophic failure” of equipment in a nearby substation, according to a new report.
Experts say the fire at the North Hyde Substation, which supplies electricity to Heathrow, started following the failure of a high-voltage electrical insulator known as a bushing, before spreading.
The failure was “most likely” caused by moisture entering the equipment, according to the report.
Image: The fire at Hayes electrical substation, which led to Heathrow Airport shutting down in March. Pic: @JoselynEMuirhe1/PA
National Grid, which owns the substation, missed two opportunities to prevent the failure, experts found, the first in 2018 when a higher-than-expected level of moisture was found in oil samples.
Such a reading meant “an imminent fault and that the bushing should be replaced”, according to guidance by the National Grid Electricity Transmission.
However, the report by National Energy System Operator (NESO) said the appropriate responses to such a serious issue were “not actioned”, including in 2022 when basic maintenance was postponed.
“The issue therefore went unaddressed,” the report added.
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Moment Heathrow substation ignites
The design and configuration of the airport’s internal power network meant the loss of just one of its three supply points would “result in the loss of power to operationally critical systems, leading to a suspension of operations for a significant period”, the report added.
Heathrow – which is Europe’s biggest airport – closed for around 16 hours on 21 March following thefire, before reopening at about 6pm.
Image: The North Hyde electrical substation which caught fire. File pic: PA
Tens of millions of pounds were lost, thousands of passengers were stranded, and questions were raised about the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure.
More than 71,000 domestic and commercial customers lost power as a result of the fire and the resulting power outage, the report said.
NESO chief executive, Fintan Slye, said there “wasn’t the control within their [National Grid’s] asset management systems that identified that this [elevated moisture levels] got missed.
“They identified a fault, [but] for some reason the transformer didn’t immediately get pulled out of service and get repaired.
Image: Smoke rises following the fire
“There was no control within the system that looked back and said ‘oh, hang on a second, you forgot to do this thing over here’.”
Sky’s science and technology editor, Tom Clarke, pointed to the age of the substation’s equipment, saying “some of these things are getting really very old now, coming to the end of their natural lives, and this is an illustration of what can happen if they are not really well maintained”.
The report also highlights a lack of joined-up thinking, he said, as “grid operators don’t know who’s critical national infrastructure on the network, and they don’t have priority”.
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Heathrow bosses were ‘warned about substation’
Responding to the report’s findings, a Heathrow spokesperson said: “A combination of outdated regulation, inadequate safety mechanisms, and National Grid’s failure to maintain its infrastructure led to this catastrophic power outage.
“We expect National Grid to be carefully considering what steps they can take to ensure this isn’t repeated.
“Our own Review, led by former Cabinet Minister Ruth Kelly, identified key areas for improvement and work is already underway to implement all 28 recommendations.”
In May, Ms Kelly’s investigation revealed that the airport’s chief executive couldn’t be contacted as the crisis unfolded because his phone was on silent.
Image: Stranded passengers at Heathrow Terminal 5 following the fire
Pic: PA
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who commissioned the NESO report, called it “deeply concerning”, because “known risks were not addressed by the National Grid Electricity Transmission”.
Mr Miliband said energy regulator Ofgem, which opened an investigation on Wednesday after the report was published, is investigating “possible licence breaches relating to the development and maintenance of its electricity system at North Hyde.
“There are wider lessons to be learned from this incident. My department, working across government, will urgently consider the findings and recommendations set out by NESO and publish a response to the report in due course.”
National Grid said in a statement it has “a comprehensive asset inspection and maintenance programme in place” and said it has “taken further action since the fire”.
This includes “an end-to-end review” of its oil sampling process and results, further enhancement of fire risk assessments at all operational sites, and “re-testing the resilience of substations that serve strategic infrastructure”.
A spokesperson said: “We fully support the recommendations in the report and are committed to working with NESO and others to implement them. We will also cooperate closely with Ofgem’s investigation.
“There are important lessons to be learnt about cross sector resilience and the need for increased coordination, and we look forward to working with government, regulators and industry partners to take these recommendations forward.”
The UK’s YouTubers, TikTok creators and Instagram influencers have been surveyed on mass for the first time ever, and are demanding formal recognition from the government.
The creator economy in the UK is thought to employ around 45,000 people and contribute over £2bn to the country in one year alone, according to the new research by YouTube and Public First.
But, despite all that value, its workers say they feel underappreciated by the authorities.
Image: Max Klyemenko, famous for his Career Ladder videos, wants the government to take creators like himself more seriously. Pic: Youtube
“If you look at the viewership, our channel is not too different from a big media company,” said Max Klymenko, a content creator with more than 10 million subscribers and half a billion monthly views on average.
“If you look at the relevancy, especially among young audiences, I will say that we are more relevant. That said, we don’t really get the same treatment,” he told Sky News.
Fifty-six per cent of the more than 10,000 creators surveyed said they do not think UK creators have a “voice in shaping government policies” that affect them.
Only 7% think they get enough support to access finance, while just 17% think there is enough training and skills development here in the UK.
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Nearly half think their value is not recognised by the broader creative industry.
The creative industries minister, Sir Chris Bryant, said the government “firmly recognises the integral role that creators play” in the UK’s creative industries and the fact that they help “to drive billions into the economy” and support more than 45,000 jobs.
“We understand more can be done to help creators reach their full potential, which is why we are backing them through our new Creative Industries Sector Plan,” he said.
Image: Ben Woods said the government needs to “broaden its lens” to include creators
“The UK has got a fantastic history of supporting the creative industries,” said Ben Woods, a creator economy analyst, Midia Research who was not involved in the report.
“Whether you look at the film side, lots of blockbuster films are being shot here, or television, which is making waves on the global stage.
“But perhaps the government needs to broaden that lens a little bit to look at just what’s going on within the creator economy as well, because it is highly valuable, it’s where younger audiences are spending a lot of their time and [the UK is] really good at it.”
According to YouTube, formal recognition would mean creators are factored into official economic impact data reporting, are represented on government creative bodies, and receive creator-specific guidance from HMRC on taxes and finances.
For some, financial guidance and clarity would be invaluable; the ‘creator’ job title seems to cause problems when applying for mortgages or bank loans.
Image: Podcaster David Brown owns a recording studio for creators
“It’s really difficult as a freelancer to get things like mortgages and bank accounts and credit and those types of things,” said podcaster David Brown, who owns a recording studio for creators.
“A lot of people make very good money doing it,” he told Sky News.
“They’re very well supported. They have a lot of cash flow, and they are successful at doing that job. It’s just the way society and banking and everything is set up. It makes it really difficult.”
The creative industries minister said he is committed to appointing a creative freelance champion and increasing support from the British Business Bank in order to “help creators thrive and drive even more growth in the sector”.
The government has already pledged to boost the UK’s creative industries, launching a plan to make the UK the number one destination for creative investment and promising an extra £14bn to the sector by 2035.
These influencers want to make sure they are recognised as part of that.
Santander is to buy TSB, becoming the UK’s third biggest bank in the process.
Once completed, the combined bank will have the third-largest number of personal account balances in the UK, and be fourth in terms of mortgage lending, with a total of nearly 28 million customers, Santander said.
The deal is still subject to approval by regulators and shareholders of TSB’s parent company, Banco Sabadell, but is expected to conclude in the first three months of 2026.
It could mean the TSB brand is no longer visible on the high street, as Santander said it “intends to integrate TSB in the Santander UK group”.
TSB has five million customers, offers business and personal accounts, and is the UK’s tenth largest lender for mortgages and deposits. After cutting jobs and branches last year, it currently employs roughly 5,000 staff and operates 175 branches, the seventh largest network in the UK.
It comes just months after speculation that Santander would leave the UK market, despite denials from the Spanish-owned lender.
Image: File pic: iStock
In recent months, it had rejected takeover attempts from rivals NatWest and Barclays.
Barclays had also bid for TSB.
Banco Sabadell said it was selling TSB “to focus our strategy on Spain”, its chief executive, Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno, said.
Santander has agreed to pay an initial £2.65bn for TSB, with the final price expected to rise to £2.9bn when yet-to-be-announced financial results are factored in.
The price is 1.5 times the value of TSB’s assets.
“This is an excellent deal for customers, combining two strong and complementary banks, creating one of the most substantial banks in the UK and materially enhancing the competitiveness of the industry,” said Mike Regnier, CEO of Santander UK.