‘Significant differences’ remain over NI deal – follow live Brexit updates

Our associate editor Sean O’Grady has taken a look at what the future of lobbying might look like in the wake of the Greensill scandal in this piece:

Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said an independent probe needed to answer why there appeared to be “one rule” for David Cameron and Greensill Capital and another for the rest of the public when it came to lobbying for government support during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether there was any evidence Rishi Sunak broke the ministerial code, Ms Dodds said: “The chancellor released two text messages, only two, and it appears there may well have been, for example, phone calls – we don’t understand yet what he was pushing his team to do.

“At the very time when the chancellor and the team appeared to be so open to having repeated conversations with David Cameron and with Greensill, I’m sure you’ll remember all of those individuals who had been shut out of government support.

“I was inundated with people contacting me saying they couldn’t understand why government wasn’t helping them, particularly self-employed people – (they were) really desperate for help, unable to get meetings with the Treasury at that time.

“And yet the door seemed to be open for Greensill and for David Cameron and that’s the big question – why did there seem to be one rule for Conservative politicians and a different rule for those who desperately needed help, those many self-employed people excluded?”

Number 10 has said “significant differences” remain between the UK government and the European Union over the operation of the Brexit deal in Northern Ireland.

Talks have continued between the two sides, with European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and Brexit minister Lord Frost picking up the phone on Friday.

But Downing Street said there were still major hurdles to be crossed in order to resolve the issues around the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Anger at the post-Brexit trading arrangements, which have effectively created economic barriers with the rest of the UK, have been cited as one of the factors behind violence that has erupted in loyalist areas of Northern Ireland in recent days.

Prime minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said “constructive” talks had been held with the EU about the arrangements – but that there were “still significant differences that need to be resolved”.

Former prime minister David Cameron “welcomes” an inquiry into his lobbying activities on behalf of collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital and would be “glad to take part”, his spokesman has said.

Downing Street announced senior lawyer Nigel Boardman had been commissioned to carry out a review into how the firm – founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill – was able to secure government contracts.

It follows a series of reports on Mr Cameron’s lobbying on behalf of the firm – including sending text messages to Mr Sunak’s personal phone number.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has been granted an urgent Commons question calling on chancellor Rishi Sunak to explain how Greensill was granted access to a Covid loan scheme for businesses, putting hundreds of millions of pounds taxpayers’ money at risk.

Mr Sunak, however, is not expected to respond in person, with officials arguing the scheme in question is the responsibility of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy rather than the Treasury.