Nadhim Zahawi misled officials over David Camerons Greensill messages

Nadhim Zahawi failed to tell officials that he had exchanged WhatsApp messages with David Cameron when the former PM was contacting ministers about Greensill Capital loans, it has been reported.

The Tory chair fighting for his political life after admitting he had to settle a tax dispute withHMRC wrongly told investigators that he had not exchanged messages with Mr Cameron, according to The Times.

A probe by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) found that Mr Zahawi did not tell officials about messages from Mr Cameron looking for help with contact details, the newspaper said.

Mr Zahawi later admitted messages were exchange but said they had been deleted, after their existence was established and the ICO returned to ask him again about the communication.

Mr Camerons work lobbying for loans for the failed finance firm Greensill sparked a scandal in 2021, when the former PM admitted he should have communicated with ministers through formal channels rather than text and WhatsApp.

The former Tory leader wrote to Mr Zahawi that founder Lex Greensill says you are being v helpful over HMT and CBILS programme. Would it help if I pinged a message to Richard Sharp? I used to see him a bit in early leadership days but havent so much recently [...] All good wishes Dc.