David Cameron lobbying row: Civil servant allowed to join Greensill while working in Whitehall

A senior civil servant was granted permission to join the lender Greensill Capital while still working at the highest levels of government, a watchdog has revealed.

Bill Crothers was head of Whitehall procurement, in control of a £15 billion annual purchasing budget, when he took on an external role as part-time adviser to the finance company's board in September 2015.

Boris Johnson was understood to be personally concerned about the disclosure on Tuesday night, while Labour described it as "extraordinary and shocking", renewing demands for an MP-led inquiry into the lobbying row engulfing Greensill and David Cameron.

The lender, which filed for insolvency last month, has been at the centre of controversy over the access its founder Lex Greensill was granted to numerous Whitehall departments during Mr Cameron's administration. The former prime minister then went on to join Greensill in 2018, and has been revealed to have directly lobbied Rishi Sunak and a series of other ministers on the company's behalf.

Correspondence published on Tuesday between the appointments watchdog and the Cabinet Office revealed the overlap in Mr Crothers working for both the government and Greensill.

Read more: The David Cameron/Greensill scandal explained

In a letter to Lord Pickles, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), Mr Crothers said of his role at Greensill: "It was seen as a way of me transitioning back into the private sector, and was supported by the Cabinet Office leadership."

Suggesting other top mandarins had also taken on dual roles in the private sector, he added: "This advisory role was not seen as contentious, and I believe not uncommon." Mr Crothers then left the civil service in November 2015 and went on to become a director at Greensill the following year.

The circumstances emerged after Lord Pickles questioned why Mr Crothers had not sought approval from his watchdog to join Greensill.

Mr Crothers said that since his role with the lender had been "agreed via the Cabinet Office internal conflicts of interest policy" while he was employed in Whitehall, he was advised the appointment did not require further vetting by Acoba when he left. Lord Pickles criticised the "lack of transparency" around the arrangements.

An independent review into Greensill and lobbying by Mr Cameron will examine the revelations regarding Mr Crothers' dual role, a Cabinet Office spokesman said on Tuesday night.

Labour will on Wednesday try to force a binding vote on launching a parliamentary inquiry into the issue.

The emergence this week of a photo showing Mr Cameron and Mr Greensill drinking tea around a campfire during a visit to Saudi Arabia has prompted new questions from human rights charities.

Jeed Basyouni, of Reprieve, challenged Mr Cameron to say whether he called for an end to child executions in his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Kate Allen, of Amnesty, said the picture cast doubt over how hard Mr Cameron is likely to have pressed human rights issues.

Mr Cameron's spokesman declined to provide more detail beyond restating that he raised human rights with the Saudi Crown Prince.