The prime minister had initially stood by Nadhim Zahawi before ordering an independent adviser to investigate questions over his tax affairs.
| British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday after an investigation found he committed a serious breach by not being open about an $8.7 million tax probe, the latest scandal to hit one of Mr Sunak’s top ministers.
The prime minister’s independent adviser, Laurie Magnus, said Mr Zahawi did not declare his tax affairs were being investigated when he was briefly made chancellor of the Exchequer last year, and failed to disclose details when Mr 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,” Mr Sunak said in a letter to Mr Zahawi.
One Conservative lawmaker said sacking Mr Zahawi was “clearly the right decision”, adding Mr Zahawi “should have resigned to avoid the embarrassment”.“Raab is rather different,” the legislator, who declined to be identified, said. “One man’s bullying is another’s firm direction.” Mr Raab has denied bullying allegations.
Mr Zahawi’s sacking comes as Mr Sunak’s government, facing decades-high inflation and a wave of public sector strikes,Mr Magnus said that the details of HMRC’s own investigation – relating to Mr Zahawi’s co-founding in 2000 of opinion polling firm YouGov, and how many shares his father had taken to support its launch – was outside the scope of his own inquiry.
He added that Mr Zahawi had shown “insufficient regard” for the requirement “to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour”.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
UK prime minister Sunak sacks party chairman Nadhim Zahawi over ministerial breachBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fires Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi after an investigation finds he was insufficiently open about a tax probe which he settled while finance minister.
Read more »
Nadhim Zahawi sacked as Tory party chair over tax affairsRishi Sunak fires Zahawi from cabinet after he was found to have breached ministerial code
Read more »
Sunak was warned of Zahawi reputational risk in October, say sourcesPM allegedly given advice about inquiry into minister’s taxes when he appointed him Tory party chair
Read more »
Sleaze, scandal and the ghost of Boris Johnson – can ‘hopelessly weak’ Sunak handle the job?As his promise of ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level’ disintegrates, and with the shadow of Boris Johnson looming, Sunak seems to be stuck in an impossible role
Read more »
To understand the Zahawi story and Tory sleaze, look no further than Britain’s posh cliques | John HarrisGovernment failure stems from a network of private schools and elite universities, says Guardian columnist John Harris
Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveils plans to 'strengthen' settlements after fatal shooting attacksIsrael's hardliner-dominated Security Cabinet approves measures in response to a series of gun attacks, which have killed seven Israelis and wounded five.
Read more »