David Cameron’s demise is humiliating and unprecedented

Editorial: The reason no previous prime minister has been hauled before a parliamentary committee in this way is that none has behaved in this way

(Dave Brown)

Chillaxed was a word associated with David Cameron when he was prime minister. He looked anything but when he appeared before MPs during two lengthy select committees investigating his lobbying activities on behalf of the now-bust fintech company Greensill Finance.

One of Mr Cameron’s problems is that he is now even more friendless than most former premiers and party leaders inevitably grow as their time in power recedes into what’s called contemporary history. Mr Cameron is doubly cursed because not only did he not get the result he campaigned for in the 2016 Brexit referendum, but in doing so he laid the foundations for the rise of Boris Johnson. Though – or perhaps because – they are both products of Eton, Oxford and the Bullingdon Club, there is no love lost between the pair. Nor is there any remaining affection between Michael Gove and his former best man, Mr Cameron.

The ex-premier has been left to twist in the wind by his former colleagues, deprived of any major government announcements and spin activity that might have helped spare his blushes. Anyone watching the proceedings might, in fact, be forgiven for thinking that the various Tory backbenchers tearing chunks out of their former leader had been tipped the wink by the current party hierarchy, and told to enjoy themselves at “Dave’s” expense.