Calls for inquiry into Cameron’s lobbying of Sunak for Covid loans

Labour has called on Rishi Sunak to “set the record straight” after it emerged that David Cameron lobbied his department to give a failing bank access to state-backed Covid-19 loan schemes.

In a letter to the chancellor, Mr Sunak’s Labour counterpart Anneliese Dodds asked Mr Sunak to explain whether he had personally spoken with the former Tory prime minister during the course of the lobbying.

Ms Dodds said the revelations raised “urgent questions about the Chancellor’s priorities and decision-making during a pandemic” and demanded the governemnt launch “a full and thorough investigation”.

An investigation by the Financial Times this week revealed that Mr Sunak had stepped in to give Greensill Capital another hearing after Treasury officials decided not to include it in the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).

The newspaper says Mr Cameron, who has been advising the bank since 2018, was personally involved. The bank later collapsed.