After an independent examination into his tax issues revealed a severe violation of the ministerial code, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed Conservative Party Chair Nadhim Zahawi from his position.
Sunak wrote to Zahawi on Sunday and stated, “Following the completion of the Independent Adviser’s inquiry, the findings of which he has given with us both, it is evident that there has been a significant infringement of the Ministerial Code.”
I’ve informed you that I’ve decided to have you removed from your job in His Majesty’s Government as a result.
Zahawi lied when he indicated that stories about his tax troubles in July were “obviously slander,” according to independent ethics expert Laurie Magnus.
Until this week, when he claimed to have struck a deal with the authorities, Zahawi did not alter the record.
In a letter to Sunak, Magnus stated, “I feel that this delay in rectifying an inaccurate public statement is incongruous with the demand for openness.
Zahawi had demonstrated “insufficient consideration” for the need to “be honest, open, and an example leader by his own behavior,” the speaker continued.
“As Prime Minister, you properly expect the highest standards from those who serve in your cabinet, but Mr. Zahawi’s behaviour as a Minister has fallen below those standards,” he added.
Zahawi co-founded the opinion research company YouGov in 2000, and he claimed that his father invested in the company to help it get off the ground. This is related to the tax issue.
When the matter was brought up during Zahawi’s appointment as finance minister last year, the British tax office disputed with the number of shares handed to the father.
Zahawi announced on Saturday that he had paid taxes and resolved the issue with the tax office, which, according to him, found that his mistake was “careless and not intentional.” According to reports, Zahawi paid a $5.20 million ($6.2 million) late payment fee.
Over the course of several days, Zahawi had come under increasing pressure to step up as Sunak and his cabinet were questioned about the dispute.
When the allegations first surfaced in newspaper reports last month, the opposition Labour party claimed Sunak should have fired Zahawi right away rather than trying to buy time by asking Magnus to look into them.
According to senior Labour MP Bridget Phillipson, the controversy demonstrated how “weak” Sunak was as prime minister, according to Sky News.
The Conservative Party, she claimed, “just reeks of slime.”
After learning that his Indian wife Akshata Murty had for years benefited from “non-domicile” status, which prevented her from paying UK taxes on her offshore income from her family’s Infosys business group, Sunak has been questioned about his family’s tax issues.
