I’m not surprised by the way David Cameron lobbied ministers – that’s the way the political world goes round

Labour rediscovered the art of effective opposition this week, and the Greensill scandal might spiral dangerously out of Johnson’s control, writes Andrew Grice

‘Cameron crossed a line: he stood to benefit financially from his lobbying because of his shares in Greensill. Yet he didn’t break any rules’ (Getty Images)

David Cameron, a public relations executive before he was an MP,  appeared to think he could exploit the media frenzy over the Duke of Edinburgh’s death by breaking his silence on the Greensill affair, hoping his 1,749-word statement would be eclipsed.

It was a bad call. MPs in all parties thought his timing looked tacky. His statement failed to draw a line under the controversy, which led to more news bulletins and front pages this week than Prince Philip’s passing. I’m told Boris Johnson and his allies were irritated that a political truce didn’t hold until after the duke’s funeral, and accused Labour of playing party politics. But that doesn’t wash: Cameron interrupted it first. 

After pounding the Westminster beat for 39 years, I’m not surprised by the way Cameron lobbied ministers to win the now collapsed Greensill Capital access to government schemes to lend to business in the coronavirus pandemic. His repeated texts to Rishi Sunak look very cosy and pushy but that’s the way the political world goes round.