Nadhim Zahawi

Letters from Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi and Sir Laurie Magnus after Mr Zahawi's sacking as party chairman.

Under section 1.3(d) of the Ministerial Code, ministers have a duty to "be as open as possible with Parliament and the public". I consider that an HMRC investigation of the nature faced by Mr Zahawi would be a relevant matter for a minister to discuss and declare as part of their declaration of interests. At the time of my investigation this declaration was under consideration by the permanent secretary and had yet to be submitted onward to me for consideration. As a result of my inquiries, I conclude that Mr Zahawi failed to update his declaration of interest form appropriately after this settlement was agreed in principle in August 2022. Taken together, I consider that these omissions constitute a serious failure to meet the standards set out in the Ministerial Code. As set out at paragraph 11, I consider that Mr Zahawi should previously have declared the fact of the investigation. After his appointment as chancellor on 5 July 2022, Mr Zahawi completed a declaration of interests form which contained no reference to the HMRC investigation. to comply with the law and to protect the integrity of public life". With Mr Zahawi's agreement, I have met with HMRC and received some details, including the timing, of his interaction with them. I should acknowledge that the minister without portfolio has provided his full and open co-operation in assisting with my inquiries. Here, I built a successful business and served in some of the highest offices in government. As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took on the top job pledging “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”, and with the Tories struggling in the ...

Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them.” Mr Sunak first defended his minister, saying he had given a “full” account. In a letter to the Prime Minister following his sacking, Mr Zahawi did not explicitly mention the findings of the ethics inquiry into his tax affairs. It later emerged messages had been deleted from Mr Zahawi’s phone. Lord Archer, however, was forced to abort that campaign in scandal. Shares held by Balshore, the Gibraltar-registered Zahawi family trust, were sold off for an estimated £27 million. Mr Zahawi said he welcomed a chance to give his account to Sir Laurie, insisting he was “confident” and had “acted properly throughout”. But Mr Sunak also said Mr Zahawi “should be extremely proud” of his “wide-ranging achievements in Government over the last five years”. In need of a chancellor after Mr Sunak’s resignation helped trigger Mr Johnson’s own downfall, he appointed Mr Zahawi to lead the Treasury. Mr Zahawi described the role of vaccines minister as “the most important job I’ll ever do”, and his handling was widely seen as a massive success. He was reprimanded by No 10 but said he left early and “did not see any of the horrific events”, which he said he was “shocked” by. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took on the top job pledging “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”, and with the Tories struggling in the polls, he appointed Mr Zahawi to the role of party chairman.

It comes after the former chancellor faced ongoing pressures after questions arose surrounding his finances. The MP admitted that he had paid what HM Revenue & ...

As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government. You agreed and undertook to co-operate fully with the inquiry. “In particular, your successful oversight of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement and deployment programme which ensured the United Kingdom was at the forefront of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.” “Following the completion of the independent adviser’s investigation – the findings of which he has shared with us both – it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code. “That is why, following new information which came to light in recent days regarding your personal financial arrangements and declarations, I asked Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, to fully investigate this matter. [Nadhim Zahawi](https://www.thetfordandbrandontimes.co.uk/news/national/23269174.sunak-orders-investigation-tory-chair-nadhim-zahawi-amid-tax-questions/), Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak](https://www.northnorfolknews.co.uk/news/national/23283414.downing-street-denies-sunak-was-warned-zahawi-reputational-risk-october/) said the findings of his independent adviser on ministers’ interests Sir Laurie Magnus made it “clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code”.

Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked from his position as chairman of the Tory Party following a “serious breach” of the ministerial code.

“Following the completion of the Independent Adviser’s investigation – the findings of which he has shared with us both – it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. “His departure was always inevitable. A direct message on As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government. You agreed and undertook to cooperate fully with the inquiry.” Zahawi did not disclose the size of the settlement, which is reported to be an estimated £4.8m, including a 30% penalty, or whether he paid a fine.

Rishi Sunak has sacked Tory party chairman Nadhim Zahawi over "a serious breach of the ministerial code" following an investigation into his tax affai...

"That means when an allegation is put against someone, he doesn’t immediately think: ‘Right, I’m in political difficulty, let me deal with this in the way that the cynic might imagine is right. Asked on the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme if Sunak should have carried out more checks before appointing Zahawi. One senior Tory said the row was “a gift for the Labour Party". "He has shown he is unfit to serve in Cabinet and unfit to serve the people of Stratford-on-Avon," she said. “That is something which people up and down this country have rightly valued. Magnus said that on the basis of the confidential information he had access to, he believed Zahawi “should have understood at the outset that they were under investigation by HMRC and that this was a serious matter”, and as a minister should have been raised with the permanent secretary in their department. “I consider that an individual subject to the HMRC process faced by Mr Zahawi should have understood that they were under investigation by HMRC and that this was a serious matter.” The ethics adviser wrote: “Zahawi has told me that at the time of this statement, he was under the impression that he was answering HMRC’s queries, but that he was not under investigation. He added: "I consider that Mr Zahawi, in holding the high privilege of being a Minister of the Crown, has shown insufficient regard for the General Principles of the Ministerial Code and the requirements in particular, under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour.” Zahawi has repeatedly defended his position, and said the settlement included a penalty applied on the basis of “carelessness”, but had failed to speak publicly to address the situation. In response Zahawi told the PM he can be "assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years", in a letter he posted on Twitter responding to his sacking, saying: “Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them." He added to the Conservative party chair, a former vaccines minister, that he should be “extremely proud" of his “wide-ranging achievements in government over the last five years”.

Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked as Tory chairman in a letter by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who says that there has been 'a clear breach of Ministerial Code'

Thank you for your service to this and previous governments.” That is something which people up and down this country have rightly valued. “Your role was critical to ensuring our country came through this crisis and saved many lives. “As you leave, you should be extremely proud of your wide-ranging achievements in government over the last five years. As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government. Meanwhile, Sunak had faced calls all week to sack the former from his cabinet, and instead asked his new ethics adviser - Sir Laurie Magnus - to assess whether the HMRC settlement amounted to a breach of the ministrial code.

The Prime Minister told the Tory chairman in a letter that it is “clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code”. | ITV National News.

He added: “I think we’re living in very strange times where the disconnect between what’s going on in Westminster and the rest of the country is getting bigger and bigger. “Given this was a serious breach of the ministerial code, Nadhim Zahawi must also do the right thing and resign as an MP. It was one of the biggest news stories of our time - and it's still not over. Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them.” As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government. You agreed and undertook to co-operate fully with the inquiry.

UK prime minister acts after Whitehall probe finds 'a serious breach of the ministerial code.'

“It’s vital that we now get answers to what Rishi Sunak knew and when did he know it,” she added. In his reply to the prime minister, Zahawi — who served as U.K. An independent probe, ordered by Sunak and published Sunday morning, concluded Zahawi had not been sufficiently transparent about his private dealings with the tax authority when accepting a succession of senior ministerial roles.

The MP was sacked as Conservative Party chairman earlier on Sunday after an inquiry by Mr Sunak's ethics adviser. It came after it emerged Mr Zahawi paid a ...

It think he should have gone a week ago or whenever the story broke," she said. "I think he doesn't lead by example. "He hasn't been honest and he's failed in that test of leadership and I think it brings shame on the town and shame on the country and shame on the party that he represents," he said. I think he's been forced into the position. If he had gone at the beginning of this week he'd have gone with some grace," she said. [Rishi Sunak had removed him](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64444265), with one saying Mr Zahawi "had brought shame on the town".

Nadhim Zahawi is sacked as Tory Party chairman after an inquiry finds he failed to disclose investigation into his tax affairs.

Mr Zahawi - who was vaccines minister at the time - told Sir Laurie he believed he was "merely being asked certain queries" rather than being investigated. August 2022: Mr Zahawi reaches an agreement with HMRC for failing to take "reasonable care". Again, Mr Zahawi does not update his declaration of interest form "Regardless of what happened with the tax, his behaviour... April 2021: HMRC starts having interactions with Mr Zahawi, including a meeting with him and his advisers. he tried to shut me up". Sir Laurie says Mr Zahawi should have understood this was "a serious matter" and included it in his declaration of interests In his letter to Mr Sunak, Mr Zahawi expressed concern about the conduct of journalists in recent weeks, specifically mentioning one headline which said the "noose was tightening". So why the dither? Asked whether Mr Zahawi should ever have been appointed, Mr Gove said his "understanding" was that there was "no information that was brought to the attention of the prime minister, either Rishi or indeed Liz Truss which would have led them to believe at the time it was inappropriate to have Nadhim on the team". But Mr Zahawi's "omissions" of information constituted a "serious failure to meet the standards set out in the ministerial code", Sir Laurie wrote in his report. In his letter to Mr Zahawi, Mr Sunak said the MP for Stratford-on-Avon could be "extremely proud" of his achievements in government, including overseeing the Covid vaccine rollout.

PM's judgment in question as Zahawi fails to apologise after inquiry finds breaches of ministerial code.

Zahawi finally updated his declaration of interest to include the outcome of the HMRC investigation on 16 January 2023. Magnus said the delay in correcting an “untrue public statement” was a breach of the ministerial code. In his first breach of the code, Zahawi did not declare the matter, later telling the ethics adviser he had failed to realise it was a formal investigation. But Magnus said he should realised it was an investigation and treated it as a “serious matter”. “As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position,” he wrote. The ethics adviser, however, criticised him for “untrue” public statements over the HMRC investigation.

Instead, he has faced days of damaging headlines about the multimillionaire cabinet minister avoiding paying tax – and pressure from angry Tory MPs who have ...

At a time when so many people are struggling to make ends meet, the spectacle of Zahawi, a former chancellor, avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax is particularly damaging for the government. But even they know that the window to win back public trust is narrowing. They have also been an unwelcome distraction for ministers trying to deal with big issues such as the NHS crisis and public sector strikes. The prime minister – who has now lost two cabinet ministers in his first 100 days in office – will want nothing more than to put the whole damaging affair behind him. There are few in the Tory party who think Raab will survive in cabinet, meaning yet more political authority lost for Sunak. When it came to it, the prime minister acted swiftly.

The MP was sacked as Conservative Party chairman earlier on Sunday after an inquiry by Mr Sunak's ethics adviser. It came after it emerged Mr Zahawi paid a ...

"I think he should have gone a week ago or whenever the story broke." "I think Sunak should have moved more quickly. "I think he doesn't lead by example. "He hasn't been honest and he's failed in that test of leadership and I think it brings shame on the town and shame on the country and shame on the party that he represents," he said. I think he's been forced into the position," she said. If he had gone at the beginning of this week he'd have gone with some grace," she said.

Rishi Sunak's attempts to focus on his government's priorities threatened to be further hit by more questions over the Nadhim Zahawi tax storm and the ...

“It’s vital that we now get answers to what Rishi Sunak knew and when did he know it. Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them.” [Prime Minister](/topic/prime-minister) of failing to act quickly enough in sacking Mr Zahawi as Tory party chairman and he is also facing growing pressure to deal swiftly with the string of bullying allegations against Deputy Prime Minister [Dominic Raab](/topic/dominic-raab). In a letter to Mr Zahawi, Mr Sunak said following the investigation “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code”. In his report Sir Laurie said Mr Zahawi had shown “insufficient regard for the principles of the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements in particular under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour”. [Mr Zahawi](https://www.standard.co.uk/topic/nadhim-zahawi) was sacked as [Conservative Party](/topic/conservative-party) chairman on Sunday due to a row over his tax affairs and after an ethics inquiry found he was “in serious breach of the ministerial code”.

Prime minister 'dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago', Angela Rayner says.

The shares, worth an estimated £27 million, were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawi’s family. [Rishi Sunak](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/rishi-sunak) made “the right decision” by sacking [Nadhim Zahawi](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/nadhim-zahawi), the chairman of the [Scottish Conservative Party](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/scottish-conservative-party) has said. [Rishi Sunak](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/rishi-sunak) has sacked [Nadhim Zahawi](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/nadhim-zahawi) following the conclusion of an ethics inquiry and several days of intense pressure. [Cabinet](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/cabinet) as minister without portfolio, saying that with the inquiry concluded “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code”. [YouGov](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/yougov), the polling firm Mr Zahawi founded. The prime minister fired the Conservative Party chairman early on Sunday morning, shortly after an ethics inquiry into Mr Zahawi found that he had committed a “serious breach” in the handling of his tax affairs. Urging the prime minister to “come clean”, Ms Rayner said that the “hopelessly weak prime minister has been dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago”. [Conservative Party](/topic/conservative-party) chairman early on Sunday morning, shortly after an ethics inquiry into Mr Zahawi found that he had committed a “serious breach” in the handling of his tax affairs. Supporters of the prime minister welcomed the decision to sack Mr Zahawi, as well as his decision to allow “due process” to take effect. [Rishi Sunak](/topic/rishi-sunak) still faces questions about his own knowledge of [Nadhim Zahawi](/topic/nadhim-zahawi)’s tax affairs, after he [moved to sack the Tory chairman](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nadhim-zahawi-sacked-rishi-sunak-b2271353.html). Urging Mr Sunak to “come clean”, Ms Rayner said that the “hopelessly weak prime minister has been dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago”. [Labour](/topic/labour)’s deputy leader [Angela Rayner](/topic/angela-rayner) and party chairwoman [Anneliese Dodds](/topic/anneliese-dodds) have written to Mr Sunak to ask him what he knew about the investigation into Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs and when.

Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked from government after an inquiry by Rishi Sunak's ethics adviser criticised how he handled his tax affairs. The prime minister ...

Mr Zahawi - who was vaccines minister at the time - told Sir Laurie he believed he was "merely being asked certain queries" rather than being investigated. August 2022: Mr Zahawi reaches an agreement with HMRC for failing to take "reasonable care". Again, Mr Zahawi does not update his declaration of interest form "Regardless of what happened with the tax, his behaviour... he tried to shut me up". April 2021: HMRC starts having interactions with Mr Zahawi, including a meeting with him and his advisers. Sir Laurie says Mr Zahawi should have understood this was "a serious matter" and included it in his declaration of interests He also praised Mr Zahawi's "willingness to assist with my inquiry" and said he appreciated the pressures of being a minister. Asked whether he should ever have been appointed, Mr Gove said his "understanding" was that there was "no information that was brought to the attention of the prime minister, either Rishi or indeed Liz Truss which would have led them to believe at the time it was inappropriate to have Nadhim on the team". 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 behaviour". Sir Laurie was also critical of Mr Zahawi for describing new stories about his tax affairs as "smears" and failing to correct the record until January 2023. Setting out his findings in a letter to the prime minister, Sir Laurie criticised Mr Zahawi not only for failing to include the HMRC investigation in his register of interests until July 2022, but also for failing to update it once a settlement had been reached.

Amid signs of pushback by Zahawi over his sacking, Helen Whately says PM did right thing in removing him from cabinet.

Those were opportunities when he could have been transparent and he wasn’t. “There are serious questions for Rishi Sunak to answer,” the Labour chair, Anneliese Dodds, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday. “As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position,” he wrote. And it’s not that long again until there will be another general election in which voters will again make those decisions.” “What did he know about the investigation into Nadim Zahawi, the amount of money he had paid in unpaid tax and the penalty he had to pay? Asked if Sunak could have acted sooner, Whately defended the process.

Rishi Sunak is facing further criticism of his handling of allegations about Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs, following his sacking as Tory party chairman · Labour ...

But she reminds listeners that Sunak did take the decision to remove him on Sunday. "Normally the Conservative whip is removed if someone has created a problem within Parliament, allegations of bullying for example. He was also critical of Zahawi for describing new reports about his tax affairs as "smears" and failing to correct the record until January 2023. The prime minister rightly had a review of this because it became this dominating issue, nobody could go into an interview studio and not be asked about it” Zahawi was born in Iraq to a Kurdish family. Just two days into the job, Zahawi joined those publicly urging Johnson to go All this comes against the backdrop of already-waning public trust in UK politics, as Ipsos pollster Keiran Pedley reminds us with a striking graph about which professions British people trust to tell them the truth. Those are two pretty huge penalties he has just been handed”. She says the PM is very clear he wants to have a government of accountability, integrity and professionalism. Asked again about whether he should continue as a Tory MP, she says: "I'm not going to speculate about what will happen in the future" – and says there is nothing more she knows about the situation. Rishi Sunak is pressed on Nadhim Zahawi and asked if he is furious about the former chancellor's conduct and the damage it has done to the government following a row over his tax affairs. "What I have done is follow a process, which is the right process," Sunak says, adding "Integrity is really important to me."

Sacking puts Sunak's political judgment under scrutiny, amid consistently bleak opinion polls for him and Tories.

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Prime minister says he acted decisively over sacking of Tory chairman and calls for people to 'move on'

The chancellor and the prime minister get that and there’s a budget coming. The government has been unwilling to seriously engage with the causes of strike action. The National Education Union says its strike on Wednesday will go ahead after last-minute talks with Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, failed to produce a breakthrough. We have delayed calling strikes to allow the employers to meet us and to make a new offer. For some time experts have been calling for the clock to start at the moment of arrival. Otherwise, in the coming weeks, we intend to announce a series of strike dates and industrial action. The union is taking action in opposition to the 5% pay rise it was offered last autumn. Firefighters in the UK have voted to go on strike. A week ago William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments, announced that he would review the circumstances that led to Richard Sharp being appointed as chairman of the BBC. The workforce plan has been written, but it isn’t published, and is separate to this … We are not setting out that ambition in this statement, because the impact of the pandemic has been so severe. In the first vote, peers backed a Labour amendment, with cross-party support, designed to raise the threshold for what counts as serious disruption.