Category Archives: Nadhim Zahawi

Nadhim Zahawi says it was a mistake for Tories to force Boris Johnson from No 10

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Former chancellor, who was one of those who urged Johnson to go, says Tories should have realised ‘Twitter was not the country’

Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has said he and his Conservative colleagues were wrong to force out Boris Johnson as prime minister in 2022.

Johnson resigned after less than three years in No 10 after more than 50 resignations from government of MPs and staff and waves of backbenchers urging him to quit over the handling of the Chris Pincher affair and numerous other scandals. He resigned as an MP a year later.

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Ministers were ‘dangerously complacent’ on school safety, whistleblower reveals

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Senior civil servant says ‘many alerts’ crossed education secretary’s desk, but UK government was more concerned with saving money

A senior civil service whistleblower has told the Observer that Tory ministers and their political advisers were “dangerously complacent” about crumbling school buildings constructed with aerated concrete, and that they were more concerned with saving money than improving safety.

The source, who worked in the private office of Nadhim Zahawi, the then education secretary, saw regular alerts crossing his desk. He said ministers and special advisers were “trying to get away with spending as little as they could” and hoping to “make do” rather than treating the problem with the urgency it required.

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Rishi Sunak to replace Nadhim Zahawi as Tory party chair in mini-reshuffle

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Sources say prime minister also wants to split Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Rishi Sunak is planning a mini-reshuffle to replace Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative party chair as he tries to reassert his grip over his divided party, according to reports.

The prime minister is also believed to be considering a shake-up of Whitehall by splitting the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy into two or three new departments to better reflect his priorities.

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Rishi Sunak under pressure after sacking Nadhim Zahawi over tax storm

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

Rishi Sunak has sacked the Conservative party chair, Nadhim Zahawi, for serious breaches of the ministerial code over his tax affairs, after weeks of damaging headlines undermined the prime minister’s attempts to restore government integrity.

An investigation by Sunak’s new ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, concluded that Zahawi had broken the rules by repeatedly failing to declare an HMRC investigation into his tax affairs, which concluded with a £5m settlement including a penalty.

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Nadhim Zahawi sacked as Tory party chair over tax affairs

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Rishi Sunak fires Zahawi after he was found to have committed ‘serious breach’ of ministerial code

Rishi Sunak has sacked the Conservative party chair, Nadhim Zahawi, after he was found to have breached the ministerial code by failing to declare the HMRC investigation into his tax affairs.

An investigation by the prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, concluded that Zahawi had made a “serious breach” of the code by not telling officials he was under investigation by the tax body when he was appointed chancellor by Boris Johnson.

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Seven occasions when Nadhim Zahawi broke the ministerial code

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Timeline: the occasions when Rishi Sunak’s ethics adviser says Zahawi failed to be open about his tax affairs

The prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, identifies seven occasions on which Nadhim Zahawi breached the ministerial code by failing to be open about his tax affairs.

April 2021 HMRC commenced its investigation of Zahawi’s tax affairs, which included a meeting with him and his tax advisers in June 2021. Zahawi, who was a business minister at the time, told Magnus he was under the impression he was “merely being asked certain queries”. Magnus says he should have understood it was a “serious matter”, informed his permanent secretary, and disclosed it in his ministerial declaration of interests.

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Tories call for action over legal threats from powerful figures facing scrutiny

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Solicitors accused of using lawsuits to stifle criticism of prominent figures include those acting for Nadhim Zahawi

Ministers are under pressure to speed up action against the use of legal tactics by powerful figures to silence legitimate criticism. This comes after a surge in investigations into their use.

The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) warned the profession against employing such tactics at the end of last year, but says their use has increased since then, and it is now examining 40 cases.

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Zahawi should quit as party chair until tax inquiry ends, top Tory peer implies

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Lord Young suggests ministers should feel able to step aside for the duration of any investigation

Nadhim Zahawi should step away from his Conservative party role while the inquiry into his tax affairs continues, a senior Tory peer and former Commons standards chair has appeared to suggest.

Lord Young, who served in several Conservative administrations from Margaret Thatcher’s to Theresa May’s, suggested that ministers under pressure should feel able to step aside for the duration of any investigation.

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Focus on NHS and inflation to keep poll hopes alive, Sunak tells ministers

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Cabinet told about bleak outlook for governing party at next general elections at Chequers awayday

The Conservatives must “relentlessly focus” on inflation and the NHS if they are to have a chance at the next election, cabinet ministers have been told.

Rishi Sunak gathered ministers at his country retreat Chequers on Thursday for a midday political cabinet – where a number of ministers gave presentations on the government’s key priorities and took a fresh look at the strategy for the next election.

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Rishi Sunak has never paid a penalty to HMRC, No 10 says, amid growing pressure over Nadhim Zahawi – as it happened

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Rishi Sunak has welcomed Germany’s decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

There is more coverage of the German decision on our Ukraine live blog.

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‘He should resign’: Stratford-on-Avon constituents on Zahawi tax scandal

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Residents of Warwickshire town united in condemnation of local Tory MP’s tax affairs

The market town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire has been a Conservative stronghold for well over a hundred years, with its current MP, Nadhim Zahawi, securing a majority of about 20,000 in three successive general elections.

But it was difficult to find support for the beleaguered MP on the streets of the town on Wednesday, and most local people said they thought he should resign over the scandal around his tax affairs.

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No 10 declines to say Sunak confident Zahawi has always told him truth about his tax affairs – UK politics live

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Downing Street spokesperson also says inquiry into former chancellor’s affairs to be ‘conducted swiftly’

There are two urgent questions in the Commons later. At 12.30pm Caroline Lucas (Green) is asking one about the child asylum seekers who have gone missing from hotel accommodation provided by the Home Office, and that will be followed by Ben Bradshaw (Lab) asking one about the Church of England’s stance on equal marriage.

After those are over Damian Hinds, the justice minister, will deliver a statement about the probation inspectorate.

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Minister unable to say whether Zahawi was telling truth when he first said taxes were fully paid – as it happened

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Labour MP asks whether Zahawi statement in the summer was untrue, with Cabinet Office minister saying he does not know the answer

Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative party chair, has welcomed the decision by Rishi Sunak to ask the No 10 ethics adviser to investigate his case. “I am confident I acted properly throughout,” Zahawi said.

Zahawi seems to be using a narrow definition of “properly”. In the statement he issued yesterday, he accepted that his original decision not to pay the tax that HM Revenue and Customs subsequently concluded he should have paid was down to a careless error. He said:

Following discussions with HMRC, they agreed that my father was entitled to founder shares in YouGov, though they disagreed about the exact allocation. They concluded that this was a ‘careless and not deliberate’ error.

Integrity and accountability is really important to me and clearly in this case there are questions that need answering …

That’s why the independent adviser has been asked to fully investigate this matter and provide advice to me on Nadhim Zahawi’s compliance with the ministerial code, and on the basis of that we’ll decide on the appropriate next steps.

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Nadhim Zahawi’s future threatened as Labour steps up pressure over tax affairs

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Angela Rayner says Rishi Sunak should come clean about any concerns raised with No 10 about ex-chancellor and HMRC penalty

Nadhim Zahawi’s political future appeared under increasing threat on Sunday night, after Labour pushed hard for answers about his tax issues and government colleagues offered little support for his plight.

After a weekend dominated by questions over the Conservative party chair’s tax position, Labour signalled its intention to pin the controversy on to Rishi Sunak, demanding the prime minister explain if he knew about the issue when he appointed Zahawi to his cabinet.

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Nadhim Zahawi claims error with his taxes ‘careless not deliberate’

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Comments follow reports that Tory party chairman paid HMRC a penalty as part of a multimillion-pound tax settlement

Tory party chair Nadhim Zahawi has released a statement to “address some of the confusion about my finances” after reports that he paid a penalty as part of a multimillion-pound tax settlement.

He said: “As a senior politician I know that scrutiny and propriety are important parts of public life. Twenty-two years ago I co-founded a company called YouGov. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved. It is an amazing business that has employed thousands of people and provides a world-beating service.

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Nadhim Zahawi’s position as Tory chair ‘untenable’, says Labour

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Angela Rayner calls for explanation after it emerged former chancellor paid 30% penalty to settle tax bill

Nadhim Zahawi’s position as Conservative party chair is “untenable” after reports he paid a penalty as part of a seven-figure tax settlement, Labour has said.

The former chancellor, who attends cabinet meetings, has faced pressure in parliament and the media after it emerged he agreed to pay millions to HMRC in December after a settlement with the tax agency.

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Doubts arise over Braverman’s claim to have come forward about code breach

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Former intelligence select committee chief warns issue threatens to undermine confidence in sharing sensitive information

Suella Braverman is under pressure to answer fresh questions about alleged “security breaches”, as a former head of parliament’s intelligence and security committee warned the row threatened to undermine officials’ confidence in sharing sensitive information with her.

The account given by the home secretary and backed up by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, when he defended reappointing her just six days after she was found to have broken the ministerial code were challenged by government insiders and a senior Conservative MP.

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No 10 chief of staff’s position untenable amid lobbying claims, says Labour

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Mark Fullbrook accused of trying to change UK policy by arranging for ministers to meet Libyan politician

Labour has claimed Mark Fullbrook’s position as Downing Street chief of staff is no longer tenable after it was revealed that before his appointment he tried to change UK foreign policy by arranging for two cabinet ministers to meet Fathi Bashagha, a Libyan politician with links to the Russian Wagner Group.

The Guardian had previously reported that Fullbrook, as chief executive of Fullbrook Strategies, had lobbied on behalf of Bashagha, but the Sunday Times alleged he arranged for Bashagha to come to London in June, where he met the then business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, and the education secretary at the time, Nadhim Zahawi.

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Truss axes national security council, sparking ‘talking-shop’ concerns

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Labour says new merged foreign policy council could reduce Whitehall policy-makers’ focus on security

Liz Truss has scrapped the national security council and merged it with two Boris Johnson-era foreign policy committees in a structure that Labour warned risked diluting the government’s security focus.

Created in 2010 under the coalition, led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, to better coordinate security policy after the disaster of the Iraq war, the NSC is now to be replaced by a broad eight-strong foreign policy and security council (FPSC).

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No one should be cut off if they can’t afford energy bills, says Zahawi

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UK chancellor says more help will be provided to heat homes this winter but does not explain how

The chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, has said households should not be cut off if they cannot afford their energy bills, as the Treasury examines a range of options to help consumers cope with the cost of living crisis.

Zahawi promised that the government would expand on the £37bn package of aid announced earlier this year to help households tackle soaring energy costs. He told Sky News: “No one should be cut off because they can’t afford their bills.

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