What are the different strands to the cronyism scandal engulfing No 10?

From Greensill to Dyson to Cummings, Jon Stone untangles the political row that won’t go away

Cummings leaving No 10 in November last year (Reuters)

Downing Street and the government in general has been engulfed by allegations of cronyism in recent weeks. But there are many different strands to the story, some of which only tangentially overlap – here are the key threads you should be following.

Greensill lobbying

The story started with revelations that David Cameron had been lobbying the chancellor Rishi Sunak on the behalf of Greensill Capital. The prime minister had tried to get the bank access to a taxpayer-backed loan scheme, and Sunak told officials have another look. The bank has since collapsed, and the Treasury is now potentially on the hook for loans it underwrote for Greensill under a related scheme.

Dyson lobbying

This was the next strand to emerge, with Westminster's appetite whetted for lobbying exposés and questions raised about access to ministers. Text messages published by the BBC showed that the prime minister had promised to personally "fix" a tax issue for Sir James Dyson, Britain's richest man and Brexit supporter.

Cummings leak accusation

The story took another turn when Downing Street tried to shift attention onto who had leaked the messages. At first it briefed a compliant columnist at the Mail on Sunday that there was "Labour-aligned mole" in the civil service. When this landed badly, No 10 claimed that the leaker was in fact Dominic Cummings. Cummings hit back the next day in a blog post – denying that it was him, and apparently enraged, started throwing around allegations of his own.

Halts to a leak inquiry?

One key allegation made by Cummings was that the prime minister suggested halting an inquiry into earlier government leaks for fear that it could get him in trouble with his fiancee. Cummings claimed there was evidence leaks about lockdown policy came from an adviser called Henry Newman – a close friend of Johnson's fiancee, Carrie Symonds. Stating that he could not fire the aide for this reason, Johnson is said to have suggested calling off the leak inquiry.

The Downing Street flat makeover

Another claim made by Cummings is that the prime minister suggested am "unethical, foolish” and “possibly illegal” plan to get donors to pay for a luxury revamp of his private flat in Downing Street – which “almost certainly” broken the rules on “proper disclosure of political donations”. The Electoral Commission says it is asking the Conservative Party for clarification, and Cummings says he’ll happily answer questions on the issue and others from MPs.