Sunak sacks Zahawi over tax allegations

PROBE FINDS TORY PARTY CHAIR HAD BREACHED THE MINISTERIAL CODE

BSunak’s independent adviser Laurie Magnus said Zahawi didn’t declare his tax affairs were being investigated when he was briefly made finance minister last year, and failed to disclose details when Sunak appointed him to his current role.

ritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi yesterday after an investigation found he committed a serious breach by not being open about a tax probe, the latest scandal to hit one of Sunak’s top ministers.

Sunak had initially stood by Zahawi before ordering an independent adviser to investigate questions over his tax affairs after it emerged Zahawi had settled a probe by Britain’s tax authority HMRC last year.

Zahawi has said the tax body ruled he had been “careless” with his declarations but hadn’t deliberately made an error to pay less tax, confirming he paid a penalty to HMRC.

Failure to disclose details

Sunak’s independent adviser Laurie Magnus said that Zahawi didn’t declare that his tax affairs were being investigated when he was briefly made finance minister last year, and failed to disclose details when Sunak appointed him to his current role.

“Following the completion of the Independent Adviser’s investigation ... it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code,” Sunak said in a letter to Zahawi.

“As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government.”

It is a setback to Sunak’s attempt at a government reset after a chaotic year that saw three different British prime ministers. An investigation into alleged bullying by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is ongoing and could cause further headaches.