Former Tory Prime Minister David Cameron is set to face MPs later today over his lobbying activities for the collapsed finance firm Greensill Capital.
Cameron is due to appear at back-to-back hearings by the Commons Treasury then the Public Accounts committees.
Earlier this week, the Treasury Committee dumped dozens of texts and emails Cameron sent to government ministers and senior officials appealing for their help in gaining access for Greensill to Covid support programmes.
They included messages to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove, and senior officials at the Treasury and the Bank of England, as well as a call to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The ex-MP for Witney has insisted his lobbying activities, after joining the firm as an adviser after he left office, broke no rules, although he has accepted there are "lessons to be learned".
The Government has also said Greensill's applications were dealt with properly and were ultimately rejected.
However there has been criticism of how a former prime minister was able to exploit his personal contacts with former colleagues and officials in the pursuit of commercial gain.
In one message to Sunak, Cameron complained the Treasury's objections to Greensill's application were "nuts", adding: "Think there is a simple misunderstanding that I can explain."
In an exchange with Gove, the former prime minister messaged: "Am now speaking to Rishi first thing tomorrow. If I am still stuck, can I call you then?"
"Of course! Any time," Gove responded.
Meanwhile the City watchdog has said it is launching a formal investigation into the collapse of Greensill which filed for insolvency in March.
The Financial Conduct Authority said some of the allegations made about the firm were "potentially criminal in nature".
Greensill was the biggest backer of GFG - the owner the UK's third largest steelmaker, Liberty Steel - and its failure has put thousands of jobs at risk as GFG seeks to refinance.
Appearing before the Treasury Committee on Tuesday, the firm's founder, Australian financier Lex Greensill, said he was "truly sorry" and took full responsibility for what happened.
In a letter to the committee, Cameron said he first became concerned that the company might be in serious financial difficulty in December last year.
"Up until that point, I firmly believed that Greensill was in good financial health," he said.
Davids Cameron is expected to appear at around 2.30pm in front of the Treasury committee, then at about 5pm at the public accounts committee.
