| Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that "every proper process" was followed when he appointed Stephen Green, HSBC's former executive chairman, to be a trade minister in 2010.
Under pressure in parliament from the Labour Party over the appointment in the light of a tax scandal engulfing HSBC's Swiss operations, Cameron noted that Labour had welcomed Green's appointment at the time and "three years later they were still holding meetings with him."
Cameron said: "When I appointed Stephen Green, every proper process was followed, I consulted the Cabinet secretary, I consulted the director for propriety and ethics, and of course the House of Lords appointments commission now looks at someone's individual tax affairs before giving them a peerage." |