Sunak to be challenged at PMQs as ‘Truss not told about Tory chair tax fine’ – live

Nearly two out of three Britons want a Conservative chairman nadeem zahavi To determine how long it took to settle his tax dispute HMRCa survey for Independent found it.

Some 64 per cent of people – including 61 per cent of Tory voters – say Mr Zahavi should reveal exactly how much did he hand overAs per Savanta Commerce survey.

our politics correspondent Adam Forrest Report:

Influential Tory peer Lord Hayward said Mr Zahavi should “consider whether he stands aside for the duration of the inquiry” – warning that the saga could help “flatline” Tory popularity ahead of local elections. Can help, reports Adam Forrest, our politics correspondent.

Tory polling expert Lord Hayward told Sky News: “I think there is a difficulty where you are party president because you are the one motivating campaigners in preparation for major local elections.”

It has been claimed that Rishi Sunak was not informed about Nadim Zahawi’s tax controversy when he appointed him to cabinet because Whitehall officials were not aware of it.

Mr Zahavi, a cabinet minister without portfolio, was cleared by Whitehall officials for the role of Tory chairman under Mr Sunak after he became prime minister.

but according to many times, Neither he nor Liz Truss – his predecessor – was informed about Mr Zahavi’s dispute with HMRC.

Mr Zahavi served as equalities minister under Liz Truss during Ms Truss’ short tenure at No. 10 Downing Street. He briefly served as chancellor in the last days of Boris Johnson’s government.

a government source suggested many times that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, should have informed both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss about the potential liability of keeping Zahawi in cabinet.

But another said: “They didn’t know about the fine because HMRC didn’t tell them.”

The first two PMQs sessions of 2023 have largely followed the same pattern: Starmer attacking the fad on public sector strikes and NHS status And the PM hit back by claiming that the Labor leader opposes the government’s anti-strike legislation because it is in the unions’ pocket.

Many of those disputes remain unresolved and with more walkouts planned in the coming weeks, there is every chance Sunak could once again be tackled by Starmer over industrial action when the pair meet in the Commons for a third round later. Appears in front of MPs.

But today’s exchanges in the chamber will surely have a different feel after the Labor leader was gifted with extra ammunition in the form of a tax scandal. Tory Party Chairman Nadeem Zahawi, Which shows absolutely no signs of dying first thing on Wednesday morning.

Just a week ago the Prime Minister was defending Mr. Zahavi in ​​the Commons. But as pressure mounts on Sunak, Downing Street declined to say whether it believed Mr Zahavi had always been honest about his finances.

Kate Devlin, Politics Editor and Adam Forrest, Politics Correspondent, report:

As my colleague Joe Somerlad reports, an Iraqi refugee who arrived in Britain at the age of nine without any English, landed at No. 11 Downing Street and supported Boris Johnson’s ailing administration last summer, but was himself embroiled in a tax scandal. Got hit by.

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