Summary

  • David Cameron has appeared in front of two committees of MPs over his involvement with Greensill Capital

  • He told the Public Accounts Committee he once thought the now defunct firm could be a UK "success story"

  • The former PM added that he was not approached about working for it while in office

  • Cameron gave evidence earlier to the Treasury Committee, which is also holding an inquiry

  • MPs asked him about his work as an adviser for Greensill, which included texting current ministers

  • Cameron said there had been "absolutely no wrongdoing" on his part

  • He also revealed he had been paid "a generous amount" at Greensill - "far more than" his £150,402 salary as PM

  1. What are the rules about lobbying by former ministers?published at 14:15 British Summer Time 13 May 2021

    Reality Check

    When senior ministers leave their government post they are expected to wait three months before taking on a new job.

    After that, for two years after leaving the post, they are expected to seek advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), external before accepting a new role. During that two year period they are not supposed to lobby government at all.

    The committee will consider whether the new role could be seen as a "reward" from the prospective employer for favourable decisions the ex-minister may have made whilst in power.

    And it also looks at whether the former minister has access to insider information which could give their new employer an unfair advantage.

    As David Cameron left office in July 2016, the contact in 2020 was well outside the two year period.

    You can read more about the rules for former ministers here

  2. What did David Cameron do?published at 14:11 British Summer Time 13 May 2021

    In 2020, Mr Cameron tried to persuade ministers to allow Greensill to join a scheme called the Corporate Covid Financing Facility (CCFF).

    This would have allowed Greensill to issue loans, insured by the government, to help firms through the pandemic.

    However, Mr Cameron - and the company's founder, Lex Greensill - were unsuccessful in their attempts.

    Greensill Capital has since collapsed, with the loss of 440 jobs.

    Mr Cameron has been accused of trying to exploit private contacts with former government colleagues, for his own benefit.

    He used private channels, external to lobby ministers and former colleagues, including emails, texts and WhatsApp messages.

    In a statement last month, Mr Cameron admitted he should have contacted the government "through only the most formal of channels" when lobbying for a financial firm.

    But he denied that he broke any codes of conduct or any government rules on lobbying.

    Read our full report here.

  3. Good afternoonpublished at 14:05 British Summer Time 13 May 2021

    David Cameron leaving his home in London earlier this morning.Image source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    David Cameron leaving his home in London earlier this morning

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage from Westminster.

    Former PM David Cameron is facing questions from MPs over his work as an adviser for the collapsed finance firm Greensill Capital.

    Two of the Commons select committees are holding inquiries in to the affair.

    At 14:30 BST, Cameron will appear in front of the Treasury Committee.

    And then at 17:00 BST, he will give evidence to the Public Accounts committee.

    We’ll bring you all the exchanges as they happen, with analysis from our political correspondent Jonathan Blake, external and the BBC Reality Check team.

    Do stay with us.