David Cameron: The Face of Political Failure and Treachery

By TruePublica Editor: Not happy with taking a wrecking ball to the United Kingdom with a massive gamble that blew up in everyone’s faces with Brexit, David Cameron walked off the job because he knew what a hate figure with half the population would entail.

From there, he was next seen mired in a scandal for lobbying activities on behalf of financial services company Greensill Capital that also blew up in his face. Cameron attempted to convince the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2020 to change rules in order to allow Greensill to join the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, a government loan scheme that was initiated to support companies during the pandemic-related economic recession. In other words – put the taxpayer on the end of a collapsing company.

And during his dismal austerity-driven period as prime minister, Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne famously heralded a “golden era” of U.K. relations with China. That also blew up when the British state declared China a threat, not just economically but more importantly a serious national security threat.

Cameron was also vice-chair of a £1 billion China-UK investment fund. The UKs Intelligence and Security Committee in the House of Commons went on to state that Cameron’s appointment to that particular role would have been “in some part engineered by the Chinese state to lend credibility to Chinese investment.”

David Cameron appears to be a political puppet of the Chinese state because now he is involved with the Chinese state to effectively strengthen is geopolitical and military influence across the world.

It is a multi-billion-dollar plan to build a metropolis in the Indo-Pacific which critics fear may one day act as a Chinese military outpost. And now the vast Colombo Port City project has a new champion, you guessed it – former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cameron has been enlisted to drum up foreign investment in what most analysts call a ‘very controversial Sri Lankan project’. This project happens to be a major part of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative – China’s global infrastructure strategy.

Cameron is now doing the rounds, speaking at glitzy investment events for the project.

Cameron’s spokesperson has clearly tried to downplay his activities by stating the former PM had had no direct contact with either the Chinese government or the Chinese firm involved. However, it is no surprise that Cameron’s lobbying for the scheme has attracted a backlash from critics, who say his activities will aid China in its geopolitical ambitions.

Reported in Politco – ‘Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who was sanctioned by Beijing for criticizing its human rights record, said: “Cameron of all people must realize that China’s Belt and Road is not about help and support and development, it’s ultimately about gaining control — as they’ve already demonstrated in Sri Lanka. I hope that he will reconsider the position he’s taken on this.”

Tim Loughton, another Tory MP sanctioned by China, said: “The Sri Lankan project is a classic example of how China buys votes and influence in developing countries and then sends the bailiffs in when those countries can’t keep up the payments. Cameron should be working to help wean vulnerable countries off Chinese influence and debt rather than tying them in more tightly.”

Cameron’s office continued to defend him and said his involvement was organized by a third party, the Washington Speakers Bureau, a D.C. based agency that books guest speakers for corporate events.

His spokesperson said: “The contracting party for the events was KPMG Sri Lanka and Mr Cameron’s engagement followed a meeting he had with Sri Lanka’s president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, earlier in the year. Mr Cameron has not engaged in any way with China or any Chinese company about these speaking events. The Port City project is fully supported by the Sri Lankan government.”

The spokesperson declined to say how much Cameron was paid for his time.

Mired in controversy

Just like everything else David Cameron has achieved in life, controversy is never far away. The Colombo Port City project has been controversial since the very beginning.

It was unveiled in 2014 by China’s Xi and Sri Lanka’s then-president, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Three years later, Sri Lanka handed it over to Chinese control after struggling to pay off its debt to Chinese firms (which is how these things tend to work for China).

Its environmental impact is one thing but as the U.S. warned – it could be used for money laundering and even greater fears that it will ultimately be used as a Chinese military outpost. This assumption has come about because Beijing has already used the nearby Hambantota port, which happens to be funded by Chinese loans as well, to dock its own military vessels.

Analysts have repeatedly warned that China is effectively going to use the project to extend its strategic influence in the region.

The main developer for the Colombo Port City Project has invested an initial $1.3 billion, but its ultimate owner is the China Communications Construction Company, a majority Chinese state-owned enterprise headquartered in Beijing.

As Politico also reports – ‘Sam Hogg, a U.K.-China analyst who writes the “Beijing to Britain” briefing, said: “As the ISC pointed out, China has a habit of utilizing former senior-ranking politicians to give credibility to their companies and projects.’

“At a time when the Belt and Road Initiative is under intense scrutiny ahead of its 10^thanniversary next week, Cameron’s involvement will raise a few eyebrows.”

Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, added: “

We can’t have a situation where the EU and U.S. are so concerned about the Belt and Road Initiative that they’re pumping billions into alternative projects, while our own former PM, David Cameron, appears to be batting for Beijing.”

 

 

 

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