David Cameron is under formal investigation over whether he breached lobbying rules with his work on behalf of collapsed by Greensill Capital.
Mr Cameron, whose government introduce statutory regulation of lobbyists, is reported to have repeatedly texted Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a bid to get access to state-backed loan schemes for the bank.
But The Times newspaper now reports that the lobbying registrar has opened an investigation into Mr Cameron’s actions to assess whether they constitute a breach.
Mr Cameron’s activities are not on Westminster’s statutory register of lobbyists – but he may argue that he was acting as an employee of Greensill Capital, which would mean he was not required to sign up to it.
He has reportedly been on the company’s payroll as an advisor since 2018.
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The loophole excluding so-called “in-house” lobbyists was controversial at the time it was introduced by Mr Cameron’s government, with critics suggesting the promised protections had been “watered-down” and noting they only covered around 1 per cent of lobbyists.
A spokesperson for the lobbying registrar Harry Rich told the Times: “The registrar is investigating whether David Cameron has engaged in unregistered consultant lobbying.”
Breaching lobbying rules can result in fines of up to £7,500 and in severe cases even see criminal charges brought.
Mr Cameron has not commented on the situation. Labour has asked Rishi Sunak to “set the record straight” on whether he spoke to Mr Cameron around the affair.
An HM Treasury spokesperson last week said of the encounter: “Treasury officials regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss our economic response to Covid.
“The meetings in question were primarily about broadening the scope of CCFF to enable access for providers of supply chain finance, which – following a call for evidence and discussions with several other firms within the sector – we decided against and informed the businesses concerned.”
