Gordon Brown has said former prime ministers “must never” lobby government for commercial purposes after David Cameron finally broke his silence over contacting the chancellor on behalf of Greensill Capital.
The former Tory PM claims he had not broken the rules on lobbying by sending personal text messages to Rishi Sunak for access to an emergency coronavirus loan for his employer, the scandal-hit financier Lex Greensill.
David Cameron has been slammed for contacting ministers via text on behalf of finance firm Greensill, the financial backer for Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel plants and the Fort William aluminium smelter.
Cameron stood to gain from Greensill shares but has lost the potential fortune as the company sank into administration.
The Tory former Prime Minister broke his silence on the controversy on Sunday, saying he should have contacted ministers through “formal” channels.
Under the current guidelines, senior civil servants and ministers are banned from lobbying for two years after they leave government, a rule Cameron followed.
But Brown, the last Labour Prime Minister, said new laws should be passed to stop former ministers lobbying for five years after leaving office.
He added: “Former prime ministers must never be lobbying for commercial purposes. Current ministers should not be entertaining such lobbying.”
Brown added: “It simply brings public service into disrepute.”
Labour is calling for Cameron to appear before Parliament to answer questions about the scandal.
Cameron refused to comment on the affair for weeks but issued a statement on Sunday evening while being aware that political campaigning is suspended due to the death of the Prince Philip.
Cameron rejected any notion that he had done anything wrong but said he should have left “no room for misinterpretation” over his actions.
He added: “I have reflected on this at length. There are important lessons to be learnt.”
The former Tory prime minister faced criticism for the timing of his statement after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.
Conservative MP Tim Loughton said was “was very, very poor and ill thought out”, while Labour’s Chris Bryant said it was “unfortunate”.
