Tax storm Tory chairman fights to save his job

Zahawi says HMRC found he'd been 'careless'

He admits claim on father's shares was rejected

Nadhim Zahawi revealed yesterday that tax chiefs found he had made a “careless” rather than “deliberate” error as he settled his tax dispute with a multimillion-pound settlement. But the Tory party chair also admitted that HMRC had rejected his claim about the amount of money that had been filed in his father’s name. Mr Zahawi, the former chancellor, yesterday made a statement addressing the £5m tax settlement – said to include a “million-pound” fine – as he fought for his political life. The Independent revealed last July that Mr Zahawi was the subject of an investigation by HMRC linked to the sale of shares in polling firm YouGov, which he had founded. In his statement, Mr Zahawi, who still attends cabinet, failed to address the reports of a fine directly but said the matter had been settled before he took up his current role.