✕CloseNadhim Zahawi should 'stand aside' now, says senior Tory MP
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More senior Conservative figures have called on Nadhim Zahawi to resign his role as party chair amid the ongoing controversy over his tax settlement with the HMRC.
Influential peer Lord Hayward became the latest Tory to say Mr Zahawi should step aside, at least until the inquiry concludes – warning that the saga could help “flatline” Tory popularity ahead of the local elections.
Earlier reports said prime minister Rishi Sunak was not informed about Mr Zahawi’s tax dispute when he appointed him to the cabinet because Whitehall officials weren’t aware of any issues.
Mr Zahawi, the cabinet minister without portfolio and Tory Party chairman, was cleared by Whitehall officials to work in Mr Sunak’s government after he became prime minister.
But according to The Times, neither he nor Liz Truss – his predecessor – were informed about Mr Zahawi’s dispute with HMRC.
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Which Tories are calling on Zahawi to quit?
More senior Conservative figures have called on Nadhim Zahawi to resign his role as party chair amid the ongoing controversy over his tax settlement with the HMRC.
The prime minister, who has ordered his ethics adviser to investigate whether Mr Zahawi broke ministerial rules, is also under pressure to act, having admitted there are “questions that need answering”.
Who has called on Mr Zahawi to quit? Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
More senior Tory figures call on Nadhim Zahawi to quit
Chairman could hurt party’s chances at local elections, warns top peer
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 11:021674647119
Nadhim Zahawi: 5 questions that need answering on tax affairs
Rishi Sunak is under pressure after he resisted firing Nadhim Zahawi, despite the Conservative chairman’s admission he settled a tax dispute after an HMRC investigation.
The prime minister, who has ordered his ethics adviser to investigate whether Mr Zahawi broke ministerial rules, admitted there are “questions that need answering” as the saga rumbles on.
Some Tory MPs want Mr Zahawi to quit, though others have urged him to “get out” more tax details in an attempt to clear the matter up. The Independent takes a closer look at the big unanswered questions.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Nadhim Zahawi: 5 questions that need answering on tax affairs
All the unresolved issues, as Tory chairman comes under intense pressure to quit
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 11:451674646356
Rishi Sunak welcomes ‘allies and friends’ sending tanks to Ukraine
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has welcomed moves by “Nato allies and friends” to send battle tanks to Ukraine.
His comments came after Germany confirmed it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.
“The right decision by NATO Allies and friends to send main battle tanks to Ukraine. Alongside Challenger 2s, they will strengthen Ukraine’s defensive firepower,” Mr Sunak said.
“Together, we are accelerating our efforts to ensure Ukraine wins this war and secures a lasting peace.”
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 11:321674643532
'Uncomfortable' PMQs if Zahawi doesn't quit, says ex-minister
Former Tory minister David Gauke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “hard to see how this doesn’t ultimately end in [Mr Zahawi’s] resignation”, Adam Forrest, our politics correspondent, reports.
He said it would be a “very uncomfortable” PMQs for Mr Sunak if he was still in post at 12pm.
It is widely expected that Labour leader Keir Starmer will use at least some of his questions during PMQs to tackle Sunak on the issue.
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 10:451674642306
Zahawi should ‘consider his position’, says Tory peer
The influential Tory peer Lord Hayward said Mr Zahawi “should be considering whether he stands aside for the period of the inquiry” – warning that the saga could help “flatline” Tory popularity ahead of the local elections, Adam Forrest, our politics correspondent reports.
Lord Hayward, a Tory polling expert, told Sky News: “I think there is a difficulty where you are party chairman because you’re supposed to be out there motivating the campaigners in preparations for key local elections.”
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 10:251674640569
Whitehall officials were not aware of Zahawi tax dispute – report
Rishi Sunak was not informed about Nadhim Zahawi’s tax dispute when he appointed him to the cabinet because Whitehall officials weren’t aware of it, it has been claimed.
Mr Zahawi, the cabinet minister without portfolio, was cleared by Whitehall officials for the Tory chairman role under Mr Sunak after he became prime minister.
But according to The Times, neither he nor Liz Truss – his predecessor – were informed about Mr Zahawi’s dispute with HMRC.
Mr Zahawi served as Liz Truss’s equalities minister during Ms Truss’s short stint in No 10 Downing Street. He briefly served as chancellor in the dying days of Boris Johnson’s government.
One government source suggested to The Times that Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, should have briefed both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss about the potential liability of keeping Zahawi in the cabinet.
But another said: "They didn’t know about the fine because HMRC didn’t tell them."
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 09:561674638646
Sunak and Starmer to face off at crunch PMQs
The first two PMQs sessions of 2023 have largely followed the same pattern: Starmer attacking Sunak on public sector strikes and the state of the NHS and the PM hitting back by claiming that the Labour leader is opposed to the government’s anti-strike legislation because he’s in the pocket of unions.
Many of those disputes remain unresolved and with more walkouts planned in the weeks ahead, there is every chance Sunak could be tackled on industrial action by Starmer once again when the pair appear before MPs in the Commons later for round three.
But today’s exchanges in the chamber will almost certainly take on a different feel after the Labour leader was gifted additional ammunition in the form of a scandal over the tax affairs of Tory Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi, which shows absolutely no signs of dying down first thing Wednesday morning.
Read more here:
Inside Politics: Questions to the prime minister
Sunak and Starmer to face off at crunch PMQs and new ONS figures show government borrowing at record high, writes Matt Mathers
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 09:241674638500
Is Sunak about to dump Zahawi? Tory MPs say PM risks looking ‘indecisive’ over tax row
Is Rishi Sunak about to dump Nadhim Zahawi? The prime minister is facing a backlash from his own MPs over the decision to keep the Tory chairman in the cabinet despite ordering an investigation into his tax affairs.
No 10 appears to be hardening its line on the embattled former chancellor after new details of the tax scandal emerged.
Just a week ago the PM was defending Mr Zahawi in the Commons. But as pressure on Mr Sunak mounts, Downing Street declined to say he was confident Mr Zahawi had always been honest about his finances.
Kate Devlin, politics editor and Adam Forrest, politics correspondent, report:
Keeping Nadhim Zahawi in cabinet during tax probe is ‘insanity’ ex-minister warns
No 10 hardens line on embattled Tory chairman after new details of tax scandal emerged
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 09:211674638217
Tell us how much you owed the taxman, voters tell Zahawi
Almost two in three Britons want Conservative chairman Nadhim Zahawi to set out how much it took to settle his tax dispute with HMRC, a poll for The Independent has found.
Some 64 per cent of people – including 61 per cent of Tory voters – say Mr Zahawi should reveal exactly how much he handed over, according to the Savanta ComRes survey.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Nadhim Zahawi: 5 questions that need answering on tax affairs
All the unresolved issues, as Tory chairman comes under intense pressure to quit
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 09:161674638013
Re-cap: who is Nadhim Zahawi?
An Iraqi refugee who arrived in Britain aged nine with no English rose to No 11 Downing Street and propped up Boris Johnson’s ailing administration last summer, only to be hit by a tax scandal himself, my colleague Joe Sommerlad reports.
Read the full article here:
All you need to know about the under-fire Tory Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi
Iraqi refugee who arrived in Britain aged nine with no English rose to No 11 Downing Street and propped up Boris Johnson’s ailing administration last summer, only to be hit by a tax scandal himself
Matt Mathers25 January 2023 09:13
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