ANDREW PIERCE: David Cameron hits rocky patch with his own company 

David Cameron’s new year began rather like the last one left off — with a new business headache.

The former PM, who spent much of 2021 defending his lobbying on behalf of the now-defunct finance company Greensill Capital, had to resolve a tricky problem with his own company.

Humiliatingly, Cameron, who as Prime Minister was also First Lord of the Treasury, was hit with a ‘compulsory strike off’ order from Companies House for ‘The Office of David Cameron’.

The order was published on the Companies House website after Cameron, the sole shareholder, failed to provide the proper paperwork on time.

It was only after the documents, which show ownership details, were lodged with Companies House that the threat was removed.

Cameron held more than £873,000 equity in the company, according to the last accounts, which were posted in 2019.

Last year he moved to make the limited company unlimited, which means he will no longer have to publish detailed annual accounts.

As he reportedly earned around £7.2 million from lobbying ministers and civil servants for Greensill, it’s no wonder he’d rather keep his earnings under wraps.

Overheard in the House of Commons: ‘Boris can’t possibly go. Who else could live with the hideous new decor in the Downing Street flat?’ 

If Boris Johnson is toppled from power today, he will have clocked up two years and 184 days in No 10. 

He will be only the 38th longest-serving prime minister of the 55 who have occupied the post since 1721, when Robert Walpole, regarded as the first de facto PM, took office. 

Boris is currently directly behind Spencer Perceval, which is not a good look. 

Perceval, who lasted two years and seven months, had an unhappy end. He was shot dead in the Commons lobby in 1812.

Tall order to scare Kwarteng 

Government whips were accused of nefarious tactics by their backbenchers last week. 

But one Tory MP who’s unlikely to have ever been moved by whips’ threats is current Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. 

‘Generally, my whips were a lot shorter than me,’ he says. 

‘So I’m not sure how the physical intimidation or other forms of intimidation would be effective.’ 

He’s 6 ft 5 in. 

Of course, whips have always been masters of the dark arts, even off duty. Sir Walter Bromley-Davenport, a booming-voiced junior whip from 1948 to 1951, once boarded a train at Crewe only to find there were no seats free. So he marched along the corridor calling ‘All change!’. When a carriage was clear, he took his seat.

His whipping career ended abruptly when he was ordered to stop MPs sneaking off during a vital vote. Seeing one apparently escaping, he called out and, when this had no effect, kicked his colleague firmly up the backside. Unfortunately it wasn’t an MP — it was the Belgian ambassador.

I-Spy: in Parliament last week Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, sporting a badge bearing the initials ‘TL’. There was speculation that it stood for ‘Tory leader’. Zahawi is quick to deny it, however, stating that TL is for the T-Levels, the Government’s new technical qualifications. He is being talked about as a possible PM candidate, albeit at 40-1 odds.  

You beauty! How Helen beat Nicola 

The Exchequer Secretary Helen Whately cheered Tories north of the border when she attended a Burns Night bash arranged by the London branch of the Scottish Conservatives, at the Cavalry and Guards Club last week.

As they tucked into their haggis, she revealed that she had once chalked up a notable victory over Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

‘When I got the invitation to speak, I did wonder if word had reached you about a shock poll result last year,’ she said. ‘Anyone here who is an avid reader of the Doncaster Free Press will know that I was voted Britain’s fourth sexiest female politician.

‘That was an honour in itself, but what I was particularly pleased about is I beat Nicola Sturgeon. So if anyone wants to talk about strategies to defeat the SNP, I can give you some tips.’

Sturgeon came fifth.