DOWNING Street is under growing pressure to launch a probe into David Cameron’s lobbying of the Cabinet.
It follows fresh claims from anti-sleaze boss Sir Alistair Graham that the ex-PM tried to “turn the screws” on ministers to give his struggling finance firm Covid cash.
Boris Johnson has so far refused demands for an inquiry but one source told Trending In The News it “was getting hard to ignore”.
Yesterday, it emerged Mr Cameron pestered No10 staff as well as Chancellor Rishi Sunak on behalf of financier Lex Greensill.
Last night, Mr Cameron released a statement in which he accepted he should have communicated with the Government “through only the most formal of channels”.
Mr Cameron’s statement said: “In my representations to Government, I was breaking no codes of conduct and no government rules.
“Ultimately, the outcome of the discussions I encouraged about how Greensill’s proposals might be included in the Government’s CCFF (Covid Corporate Financing Facility) initiative – and help in the wake of the Coronavirus crisis – was that they were not taken up.
“So, I complied with the rules and my interventions did not lead to a change in the Government’s approach to the CCFF.
“However, I have reflected on this at length. There are important lessons to be learnt.
“As a former Prime Minister, I accept that communications with government need to be done through only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation.”
