London Mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski was a key figure in David Cameron’s attempts to protect Uber from tough regulation in the capital proposed by then-mayor, Boris Johnson. According to the Guardian’s Uber Files investigation, after the largely unregulated growth of Uber in London, Johnson was considering new rules for the taxi app. Uber was riding high at the time, having eaten into the business of black cabs and ruining many private hire offices, but the company faced accusations from critics that it was operating on the edges of the law. In September 2015 TfL launched a consultation document on some possible new restrictions on the company, like capping driver numbers or asking customers to wait five minutes between booking and getting in the vehicle.

Amid a flurry of lobbying by Uber to stop the changes it appears Korski, who, in his capacity as a Downing Street digital advisor, sent emails to TfL, the mayor’s office and Uber discussing the consultation. The emails didn’t come to light easily — at one point Downing Street faced accusations of a ‘cover-up’ when it denied Korski’s correspondence existed, only for TfL to then publish the emails anyway. But they eventually revealed that Korski was making the case in favour of Uber, accusing TfL of attempting “insane and luddite things” concerning the consultation.

Thanks to London Spy on Substack for much of this inside information.