British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked minister without portfolio and Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday, January 29, because of a breach of the ministerial code linked to his lack of transparency over his tax disputes.
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In power for almost 100 days in a United Kingdom plagued by a succession of strikes and inflation that exceeds 10%, the head of the Conservative government, accused of being ” weak “ by the Labor opposition, thus displays a posture of firmness by dismissing Nadhim Zahawi rather than asking him to resign.
Above all, he seeks to translate into action his promise, made when he arrived in Downing Street at the end of last October, to show“integrity, professionalism and responsibility”after the succession of scandals under Boris Johnson and the chaos in the financial markets under Liz Truss.
“Serious violation of the ministerial code”
Following an independent investigation opened on Monday into Nadhim Zahawi’s conduct in his dispute with the tax authorities, “it is clear that there has been a serious violation of the ministerial code”Rishi Sunak wrote in a letter published by Downing Street. “Accordingly, I inform you of my decision to remove you from your position in Her Majesty’s Government”continued the head of the conservative government.
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Faced with successive revelations in the press around the settlement of several million pounds that Nadhim Zahawi had to pay to settle his dispute with the tax authorities, the Prime Minister had instructed his independent ethics adviser on Monday to investigate.
Nadhim Zahawi had settled his tax debt, along with penalties, last year during his short-lived stint as finance minister in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government. He then became, with the arrival of Rishi Sunak in Downing Street at the end of October, chairman of the Conservative party and minister without portfolio in government.
” Neglect “
Ethics adviser Laurie Magnus concluded that Nadhim Zahawi should have declared the tax investigation he was the subject of and should also have updated his declaration of interests once his dispute with the tax authorities has been settled.
The dispute concerned the sale by Nadhim Zahawi of shares in the YouGov polling institute, which he had founded in 2000, estimated at 27 million pounds sterling (30 million euros at the current rate), held via a investment, Balshore Investments, registered in Gibraltar and linked to the Zahawi family.
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Nadhim Zahawi, born to Kurdish parents in Baghdad, Iraq and arrived as a child in the United Kingdom where he made his fortune, had invoked a ” neglect “ and not a deliberate act in the conduct of this matter.
After 13 years in power, the Tories have seen their reputation tarnished by conflict of interest cases in recent years, fueling accusations of corruption by the Labor opposition, which is well ahead in the polls within two years of the next general election.
Tax controversy
When he was finance minister, Rishi Sunak found himself at the heart of a controversy last year, after the revelation by the press that his wealthy wife Akshata Murty, of Indian nationality, benefited from a tax status advantageous, which saved him from having to pay taxes to the British tax authorities on his income earned abroad.
Rishi Sunak had been exonerated for any breach of the ministerial code, but his wife announced shortly after the embarrassing revelations that she was giving up this benefit, when many Britons were already struggling with the cost of living crisis .
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Nearly 10 days ago, Rishi Sunak was fined for not wearing his seatbelt while filming video in the back of a car.
When he was Boris Johnson’s finance minister, he was fined in the scandal of the “Partygate”for being present at a gathering for the Prime Minister’s birthday, in violation of anti-covid rules.
