Zahawi committed serious breach of ministerial code, says Sunak

• Nadhim Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC for previously unpaid tax when he was chancellor of the Exchequer.
• Sunak says Mr. Zahawi’s conduct “fell below the high standards” he expects from ministers.
• Revealed a “severe infringement of the ministerial code,” he added.

After an investigation by Rishi Sunak‘s ethics adviser criticized how he managed his tax affairs, Nadhim Zahawi was fired from the government.

The investigation, according to the prime minister, revealed a “severe infringement of the ministerial code.”

After learning that Mr. Zahawi had paid a penalty to HMRC for previously unpaid tax when he was chancellor, he had ordered Sir Laurie Magnus to look into the matter.

Sir Laurie came to the conclusion that the MP had concealed his financial situation.

In a letter to Mr. Zahawi, Mr. Sunak wrote: “As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government.”

In response, Mr. Zahawi congratulated the prime minister and expressed pride in his accomplishments while in office, including the Queen’s funeral and the deployment of vaccines, but he made no apologies for breaking the rules or mention of his tax troubles.

He promised to support the prime minister “from the backbenches in the coming years”.

Sir Laurie criticized Mr. Zahawi for failing to include the HMRC investigation in his register of interests until July 2022 and for failing to update it once a settlement had been reached, outlining his findings in a letter to the prime minister.

Taken together these “omissions” constitute a “serious failure to meet the standards set out in the ministerial code”, he said.

Sir Laurie further criticized Mr. Zahawi for calling recent reports concerning his tax troubles “smears” and for waiting until January 2023 to right the record.

“I consider that this delay in correcting an untrue public statement is inconsistent with the requirement for openness,” he said.

He concluded that Mr. Zahawi had shown “insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements in particular to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behavior”.

He praised Mr. Zahawi’s “willingness to assist with my inquiry” and said he appreciated the pressures of being a minister.

However, he added: “These factors, however, cannot mitigate my overall judgement that Mr. Zahawi’s conduct as a minister has fallen below the high standards that, as prime minister, you rightly expect from those who serve in your government.”

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