Rishi Sunak didn’t know that former chancellor last week nadeem zahavi Downing Street said it had paid the penalty to settle its tax dispute.
The Tory party chairman – who previously claimed the report of an HMRC inquiry into his taxes was a “smear” – admitted on Saturday he had settled a dispute – reportedly estimated to be £4.8m, of which around £1m 30% fine is included.
Citing those revelations on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said “additional facts” were placed in the public domain by Mr. Zahavi over the weekend.
“As you heard from the Prime Minister this morning, he feels it is appropriate to ask his independent adviser to establish the facts because of this,” he said.
Mr Sunak told Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday that Mr Zahavi “has already fully addressed this matter and there is nothing further that I can add”.
But asked whether Mr Sunak was aware that Mr Zahavi had paid a penalty to HMRC, the spokesman said: “That is not my understanding.”
Mr Sunak on Monday ordered an inquiry into Mr Zahavi, who still participates in cabinet, saying “there are clearly questions that need answering”.
The inquiry could look into threats of legal action against those investigating his affairs, revealed by The Independent, Number 10 indicated.
But it would not disclose how much Mr Zahavi had to pay to the tax authority, despite reports that it totaled hundreds of millions of pounds.
The Labor Party’s deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner will use an urgent question in the Commons on Monday afternoon to demand answers from the government about the situation.
Despite the questioning, Downing Street insisted that Sunak still had “confidence” in Mr Zahavi.
Nadeem Zahavi said on Monday that he believed he had done nothing wrong
(PA Wire)
Downing Street said Mr Zahavi’s inquiry by ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus would focus on ministerial declarations, but could expand into whether his tax arrangements were fair.
Number 10 also suggested they might look into whether Mr Zahavi had lied to the media, with the official saying: “The adviser is able to look more widely if they see fit.”
Asked specifically whether Mr Sunak would expect Sir Lowry to look into legal threats against people looking after his affairs, the spokesman said: “He is looking into possible breaches of the ministerial code relating to ministerial announcements in the first instance But he has the ability to look into other issues if he feels they are relevant.
When asked about the Prime Minister’s opinion on the use of legal threats in this matter, he said, ‘The Prime Minister believes that it is right that the government should act with integrity and accountability. It is important to him”.
While the investigation is ongoing, Mr. Zahavi will remain party chairman.
On a visit to a hospital in Northamptonshire, the PM told reporters: “Integrity and accountability are really important to me and clearly there are questions in this matter that need answering.”
“That is why I have asked our independent consultant to get to the bottom of everything, thoroughly investigate the matter and establish all the facts and advise me on Nadim Zahavi’s compliance with the ministerial code,” Mr Sunak said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he cannot wave a magic wand to resolve the NHS pay dispute (Toby Melville/PA)
(PA Wire)
Asked if Zahavi should not resign during the investigation, Sunak said: “He will continue to play his role as it has been going on for a long time.”
Mr Zahavi welcomed the investigation and said “I believe I acted absolutely properly” after admitting at the weekend a dispute with HMRC had been settled over a “negligent” error.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner reacted to the fact Mr Sunak still has faith in Mr Zahavi, saying: “This pathetic attempt to pass the buck is simply not enough. Nadeem Zahavi was Chancellor of the Exchequer while he had not paid his taxes and was negotiating a settlement with HMRC at the time. You don’t need an ethics consultant to tell you this is unacceptable. “The Prime Minister decided to appoint Nadim Zahawi as Minister of Government and Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Mr. Sunak’s vote of confidence in Mr. Zahavi is another example of his weak leadership and appalling decisions. He can no longer avoid questions about what he knew and when, or why the warnings were ignored.
“As prime minister it is his responsibility to ensure his cabinet’s tax affairs are up to date and in order, but he has made too many compromises to do his job and failed to deliver on the integrity, professionalism and accountability he promised have failed. Rishi Sunak should be caught and Nadim Zahawi should be sacked from his cabinet immediately.