George Osborne and Sajid Javid
Image caption, The files show George Osborne and Sajid Javid were among those top ministers to meet with Uber

The leaked files show how the ride-sharing service lobbyists at the highest levels of government.

Boris Johnson was the target of the lobbying strategy, according to documents.

Some meetings with lobbyists are not declared.

Lobbying rules were followed, according to politicians.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Guardian obtained a huge cache of internal records from the company, which show how it tried to disrupt the taxi industry and gain access to the lucrative UK market.

The behind-the-scenes campaign went well in the UK. There were meetings between the company, its lobbyists and senior members of the government that were not reported.

There are also meetings with Priti Patel, Sajid Javid, and Michael Gove.

Government ministers put pressure on Boris Johnson to drop regulatory proposals that would have had a negative impact on the company.

The files show that the former chancellor was responsible for the positive outcome.

Sue Hawley said the meetings should have been declared.

She says that the rules were ambiguous at the time that they may not have been in violation of the letter.

The company is very controversial. It is even more extraordinary that these meetings were not reported to the public.

Black cab drivers in London have been opposed to the arrival of the app-based ride hailing service.

There were protests against the US tech firm by cab drivers.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Black cab drivers protest in London, May 26, 2015

The company was so controversial that Mr Johnson was hesitant to talk to them directly.

London is critical to the firm's success and Mr Johnson is the ultimate target, according to an internal strategy document.

Boris is the central figure in London government and the need is for a more positive image to be conveyed to him by people that he trusts.

The files show how that campaign went.

The documents show that in July of last year, lobbyists for the ride-sharing company visited 10 Downing Street.

Lobbyists reported that they were getting useful information from the Mayor's office.

The files show that the lobbyists were confident in their work. The email says that the senior staff of the Prime Minister are with us.

The documents show they met current leadership hopeful Sajid Javid, then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

There is no record of the meeting that was said to have taken place, according to a spokesman for Mr Javid.

The policy of the government to attract tech companies to the UK was said to have been done by Mr. Hancock.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer invited Kalanick to dinner at his home in California in the month of July.

Rachel Whetstone is the wife of Steve Hilton, who was strategy director for the Prime Minister. She had worked for him before at two other companies.

At the time of the dinner she was senior vice president of communications and public policy at the company. She moved to the ride sharing service.

The note from Mr Kalanick to Mr Owens made it clear that the company viewed this as an opportunity to advance its cause with the chancellor.

I think this is worthwhile. When you're in London, we were going to get you in front of the Chancellor, but this is a more private affair.

The meeting was not declared by Mr. Osborne.

"This person is very close to the prime minister and is opening doors to other ministers," she said.

That's really, really worrying. It makes people think that big business is setting the agenda. That hurts our democracy.

Lawyers for Ms Whetstone said the dinner had been arranged at the request of the then-chancellor to discuss innovation with leaders in Silicon Valley.

UK government ministers should and shouldn't do certain things. The ministers shown to have broken it are usually expected to step down.

The 2010 version states that "Ministers meet many people and organizations and consider a wide range of views as part of the creation of Government policy." Details of Ministers' external meetings will be published by the departments.

A minimum five-minute wait between booking a ride and pick-up was one of the measures being considered by TfL.

Mr Johnson wrote that he had been deluged by "rampant, frothing, free-market Conservatives" who were opposed to tighter regulations on private-hire vehicles.

The files show that the ride-sharing company continued to target Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

In a meeting that was declared, Sajid Javid met executives from the ride-sharing company who said that he was a supporter.

Emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that Mr Javid met with Mr Johnson and two other cabinet ministers on the same day.

Priti was minister of state for employment at the time she met with the lobbyist. It wasn't declared.

There is a follow up letter from the minister to the company.

Civil servants are responsible for making the recordings for official meetings like this.

In January 2016 Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Justice met with Ms Whetstone. It wasn't declared.

There was no official meeting in January of 2016 according to a spokesman at Mr Gove's department.

The TfL proposals that would have hurt the most were put on hold. It was hailed as a victory for common sense by the ride-sharing company.

The mayor said he didn't deny that he was subject to enormous lobbying by the government on the matter.

After the TfL proposals were put on hold, Mr Osborne met with Kalanick at the World Economic Forum. The meeting was called.

An email was sent after the meeting stating that George Osborne was a strong advocate. He believed that he was responsible for the consultation outcome.

It was the government's policy to meet tech businesses and persuade them to invest in Britain that was declared in all business meetings, according to a spokesman for George Osborne.

124,000 records, including emails and texts, were leaked as the technology-driven taxi firm sought to expand. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington DC received the files from the Guardian.

On Monday, July 11th, you can watch Panorama: Taking us for a Ride: The Uber Files for free on the internet.

James Oliver is a member of the reporting team. The writer is Ben King.

  • David Cameron
  • Transport for London
  • Boris Johnson
  • London
  • Uber
  • Taxis
  • George Osborne