British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has suggested it would have been “politically expedient” to sack Cabinet member Nadhim Zahawi but insisted that “due process” means the investigation into his tax affairs should be allowed to reach its conclusion.
r Sunak said he had not been given the full picture about the Tory chairman’s financial matters when he told MPs last week that Mr Zahawi had given a “full” account.
He insisted on Wednesday that when he entered No 10 and gave Mr Zahawi the job of minister without portfolio “no issues were raised with me”.
Downing Street was unable to say whether Mr Sunak fears further damaging surprises about Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, he was challenged by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who claimed he is too “weak” to sack his embattled party chairman.
Mr Sunak said: “Of course, the politically expedient thing to do would be for me to have said that this matter must be resolved by Wednesday at noon. But I believe in proper due process.”
Mr Sunak has ordered an investigation into whether Mr Zahawi broke ministerial rules over the estimated £4.8m bill he settled with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) while he was chancellor.
A week ago, Mr Sunak told MPs that Mr Zahawi had “already addressed the matter in full” – but Downing Street subsequently revealed the prime minister had not been aware that the Conservative Party chairman had paid a penalty to HMRC as part of the settlement.
Mr Sunak said: “Since I commented on this matter last week, more information, including a statement from the minister without portfolio, has entered the public domain, which is why it’s right that we do establish the facts.”
Mr Starmer made a reference to Mr Sunak’s billionaire wife, Akshata Murty, who has held non-domiciled status, as he suggested the job in No 10 is “too big” for Mr Sunak.
“We all know why the prime minister was reluctant to ask his party chair questions about family finances and tax avoidance. But his failure to sack him when the whole country can see what’s going on shows how hopelessly weak he is – a prime minister overseeing chaos, overwhelmed at every turn,” Mr Starmer said.
The row prompted questions about Mr Sunak’s own financial affairs, with his press secretary refusing to say whether the prime minister has also paid a penalty to HMRC as he prepares to publish his tax returns in an attempt to demonstrate transparency.
She described his tax affairs as “confidential”, before No 10 later released a statement saying: “The prime minister has never paid a penalty to HMRC.”
The press secretary was unable to rule out any more damaging revelations about Mr Zahawi emerging, in a sign of the levels of trust.
“I don’t think any of us can predict what may come up,” she said.
The row centres on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov, the polling firm Mr Zahawi founded, worth an estimated £27m which were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar linked to Mr Zahawi’s family.