Uber Files: Tech Company Lobbied Top Ministers in Secret Meetings

Leaked documents show how Uber lobbied top ministers in secret meetings while fighting restrictions on its ride-hailing service in the United Kingdom. According to the documents, then-London mayor Boris Johnson was the "ultimate target" of the lobbying strategy. Campaigners claim that undeclared meetings with lobbyists expose loopholes in ministerial code.

According to the politicians, all business meetings were declared and lobbying rules were followed.

A massive cache of 124,000 internal Uber records, which were leaked to the Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and BBC Panorama, reveal how Uber lobbied top politicians for support as the company sought to disrupt Europe's taxi industry and gain access to the lucrative UK market.

Uber's behind-the-scenes campaign went viral in the United Kingdom. The files document a series of unannounced meetings between the company, its lobbyists, and senior members of the then-government.

Meetings with the current home secretary, Priti Patel, Tory leadership candidate Sajid Javid, and recently sacked cabinet minister Michael Gove are among them.

The revelations are likely to rekindle concerns that regulatory proposals that would have harmed Uber in London were dropped as government ministers pressed Boris Johnson.