Westminster lobbying scandal: What questions are Greensill and Cameron likely to face?

This week, MPs on the treasury select committee will get the opportunity to question Lex Greensill and David Cameron live.

The investigation, which the committee has already stated will be short, aims to determine whether the Treasury acted appropriately as a government department, and also whether there are wider lessons for the financial system.

Here are some of the key questions they are likely to ask:

What did Lex Greensill do when he was an adviser in government?

Last month cabinet secretary Simon Case told a select committee that Mr Greensill did not appear to have a contract when he was brought into Mr Cameron’s government as an adviser in 2011.

“We cannot explain how these decisions were taken or why… it does not look appropriate,” Mr Case told the public administration and constitutional affairs committee.

Did David Cameron get special treatment?

The concern among some MPs is that the Treasury gave Mr Greensill a special hearing because David Cameron advocated on the company’s behalf.

They will be looking to see if there need to be additional safeguards in place to prevent undue influence being exerted on officials in future.

Did Greensill Capital have more access than other companies?

MPs are likely to ask whether Mr Greensill was treated differently, why that was the case if so, and whether civil servants were asked to listen to the requests of the company’s bosses in order to please politicians.

Should former politicians be banned from informal communications on government business?

They may ask whether there should be formal ways in which previous prime ministers and ministers can contact current government officials – perhaps stipulating letters must be written and texts and phone calls banned.

What went wrong at Greensill, and should problems have been spotted earlier?

In a broader sense, the MPs want to investigate the financial health of the company before its collapse, the business model, and the way the company was run.

Expect probing questions on what safeguards and checks were in place to assess the viability of the business when approaches were made.

Did Greensill Capital’s business model put jobs at risk?

It’s likely the committee will also ask about the business’s model of funding and how it operated in the UK market.

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