David Cameron has been asked to reveal text messages he sent to Chancellor Rishi Sunak to MPs amid a probe into his work for a now-collapsed finance firm.
The former Tory prime minister has been given two weeks to answer a series of questions about his role at Greensill Capital amid fury at its access to the heart of Government.
As the fallout from the lobbying controversy continued it was also revealed that 13 senior civil servants have taken second jobs in the private sector.
They include Jonson Cox, who is a non-executive director at two energy firms as well as chairman of water regulator Ofwat, and National Security Adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove, who is a director at a property firm, according to the Telegraph.
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David Cameron and Rishi Sunak have been sent a series of demands by a parliamentary inquiry into the former prime minister’s lobbying activities for Greensill Capital.
The Commons Treasury Committee wrote to the pair on Tuesday, setting a May 6 deadline to answer the questions ahead of a possible appearance before MPs over the controversy.
It is one of the inquiries launched after it emerged Mr Cameron sent text messages to the Chancellor as he sought to gain access to Government-backed coronavirus loans for his employer Greensill.
The cross-party panel of MPs also want to question Lex Greensill, the boss of the firm which collapsed into administration in March.
As announced last week, it will focus on the regulatory lessons from the failure of Greensill Capital and the appropriateness of HM Treasury’s response to lobbying in relation to Greensill Capital. The terms of reference are in the notes to editors.
Rt Hon. Mel Stride MP, Chair of the Treasury Committee, will write to Rt Hon. David Cameron, HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and UK Government Investments (UKGI) to ask them a series of questions to inform the Committee’s inquiry. The Committee will publish these letters tomorrow.
The Committee will seek to take oral evidence from Mr Cameron, Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Bank of England, the FCA, Lex Greensill, and others in due course. The Committee plans to hold a scene-setting oral evidence session with relevant experts on Wednesday 28 April, details of which will be announced later this week.