Rishi Sunak is still facing questions about his knowledge of Nadeem Zahawi’s tax affairs, after he moved to sack the Tory speaker.
Prime Minister removed conservative Party Sunday morning came shortly after an ethics investigation into the chairman, Mr. Zahavi, found he had committed “serious breaches” in the handling of his tax affairs.
Sir Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s independent adviser on the interests of ministers, swiftly concluded his investigation after serious questions emerged for the former chancellor who had had HM revenue and a multi-million pound settlement. customs Including paying a fine.
Supporters of the prime minister welcomed the decision to sack Mr. Zahavi as well as his decision to let “due process” take effect.
But aides to Mr Zahavi claimed the MP had lost his job after being given only a limited amount of time to make his case, with the Telegraph citing claims he only had a 30-minute meeting with the independent adviser to make his case. was given to defend.
The Stratford-upon-Avon MP did not explicitly comment on the controversy in his letter to the prime minister following his sacking, instead taking aim at the media because of what he called “some of the Fourth Estate’s conduct in recent weeks”. Had complained.
The row continues to raise questions for Mr Sunak, who came to office promising “integrity”.
deputy leader of both labor Angela Rainer And party chair Anneliese Dodds has written to Mr. Sunak asking what he knew about the investigation into Mr. Zahavi’s tax affairs and when.
Urging the prime minister to “come clean”, Ms Rainer said a “hopelessly vulnerable prime minister has been dragged kicking and screaming which he should have done a long time ago”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is under investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley Casey over complaints of bullying. He has denied all the allegations.
It comes as former Conservative chancellor George Osborne warned Mr Sunak needed to “do something very quickly” to save his premiership from the scandals that dogged his predecessor, Boris Johnson.
“And at the moment, he is being dragged down by a series of scandals that don’t directly involve him, a kind of hangover from the Johnson era,” he told The Andrew Neil Show on Channel 4.
Sir Lowry’s four-page report dated 29 January said the technical details of the HMRC investigation were outside his scope.
Instead, he considered Zahawi’s “handling of the matter in the light of his responsibilities as a minister”.
In that regard, they found that the Tory speaker had “shown, through his own behaviour, insufficient regard for the general principles of the Ministerial Code and in particular the requirements under the Seven Principles of Public Life to be honest, open and an exemplary leader”. ” had shown. ,
Among the findings, he noted a “lapse” from Mr Zahavi, a “serious failure” to meet the standards of the ministerial code.
He added: “In the appointment process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr Zahavi failed to disclose relevant information – in this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penalty – at the time of his appointment, including that process For the officers of the Cabinet Office supporting the
“Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was in no position to inform the appointed Prime Minister.”
The party’s chief executive, Stephen Massey, has stepped in as interim president until Mr Sunak chooses a successor.
But there was already speculation about who could take on the role, with former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg touting Mr Johnson as a possible replacement.
“He has all the right qualities for a party president. He’s charismatic, he rallies the troops. He’s kind of a full-on conservative. So I think that type of personality would be great for the party president,” he told GB News.