How can he keep his job?
● Revealed: Zahawi hid his tax fine from PM Sunak ● Inquiry will investigate if he broke ministerial code ● And it can examine legal threats Tory chair made against The Independent
Rishi Sunak did not know Nadhim Zahawi had paid a penalty to settle a tax dispute when he gave him a cabinet job, it emerged yesterday as a probe began into the affair. The prime minister ordered an investigation into a possible breach of the ministerial code, saying there were “clearly” questions to be answered. But Mr Zahawi will remain Conservative Party chair during the inquiry. The former chancellor had dismissed reports of an HMRC review into his taxes – first revealed by The Independent last year – as a “smear”, but on Saturday he admitted he had settled a dispute and paid a penalty understood to be around £1m. The new inquiry, by ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, is also expected to look at threats Mr Zahawi made against those looking into his tax affairs – including to The Independent – and whether his initial denials were accurate. However, Downing Street made clear the investigation would not reveal how much Mr Zahawi had to pay the taxman. Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said: “Rishi Sunak shouldn’t need an investigation to know that Nadhim Zahawi isn’t fit for government. He needs to grow a backbone and sack him.” Mr Sunak told the Commons last week that Mr Zahawi “has already addressed this matter in full and there’s nothing more that I can add”. But pressed on whether Mr Sunak knew then that Mr Zahawi had paid a penalty to HMRC, a spokesperson said: “That’s not my understanding.” Mr Zahawi said he was judged by HMRC to have made a “careless” error but he has not disclosed the size of the settlement – an estimated £4.8m, including the penalty of around £1m.