Nadhim Zahawi: Labour calls on PM to dismiss Tory chairman amid tax dispute claims and slams ‘motley crew of scandal-ridden ministers’
Labour has called on Rishi Sunak to dismiss Nadhim Zahawi from his cabinet after questions over the Tory chairman’s tax affairs remain unanswered.
Questions have swirled following an article in The Sun on Sunday, which claimed a seven-figure payment was made by Mr Zahawi to end a dispute with the taxman “after scrutiny of his family’s financial affairs”.
The paper alleged there were questions over his use of an offshore company – a Gibraltar-registered family trust called Balshore Investments – to hold shares in the polling firm YouGov.
Mr Zahawi has previously denied he was a beneficiary of Balshore Investments.
HMRC is facing pressure to reveal whether Mr Zahawi paid a penalty to the tax office and Labour has written to the government department arguing the “public requires answers” over the matter.
After the Guardian newspaper earlier on Friday reiterated the allegation that Mr Zahawi agreed to pay a penalty to HMRC as part of a seven-figure settlement, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has called for him to be “dismissed”.
“Rishi Sunak promised a government of integrity, professionalism, and accountability but instead he’s propping up a motley crew of scandal-ridden ministers,” she said in a statement.
“Nadhim Zahawi’s story doesn’t add up.
“The position of the man who was until recently in charge of the UK’s tax system and who this prime minister appointed Conservative Party Chair is now untenable.
“It’s time for Rishi Sunak to put his money where his mouth is and dismiss Nadhim Zahawi from his cabinet.”
Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds told Sky News: “Rishi Sunak promised honesty, integrity and accountability on the steps of Number 10.
“So if his Party Chair Nadhim Zahawi is not being clear to either HMRC or the British public, then he has no place in government.
“The public are fed up with the stench of Conservative sleaze.”
‘The public requires answers’
Mr Zahawi was seen going into Number 10 Downing Street on Friday and did not respond when asked by Sky News political correspondent Rob Powell if he had been honest about his tax affairs.
Sky News has made a number of approaches to the Tory MP and his team to clarify the situation around the payment to HMRC, but he has still not revealed if the report is accurate.
Instead, we received a broader comment from the MP’s spokesperson, who said his tax affairs “were and are fully up to date and are paid in the UK”, adding: “He has always said that he will answer any questions from HMRC as he always has done.”
HMRC has said it does not comment on individual cases, but Labour deputy leader Ms Rayner said “given the public interest” in the case “the public requires answers”.
She claimed: “In particular, there appears to be an element of special treatment directed towards Nadhim Zahawi by HMRC.”
Zahawi’s responses to tax dispute claims carefully worded
Questions about Nadhim Zahawi’s financial affairs followed him through his relatively short-lived campaign to become prime minister last summer.
The allegations centre on his links to a Gibraltar-based trust ‘Balshore Investments Limited’, of which his father Hareth Zahawi is a director.
Nadhim Zahawi has said that neither he nor his wife benefit from this trust.
However, when he founded the polling firm YouGov in May 2000, the trust was allocated shares in the company equalling the number given to Mr Zahawi’s co-founder Stephan Shakespeare.
After digging through pages of documents, the accountant and tax campaigner Dan Neidle has suggested there would have been a tax saving of several million pounds when these shares were sold because they were held by an offshore trust.
It’s this figure the Guardian is suggesting is at the centre of the reported repayment to HMRC.
Nadhim Zahawi’s responses to these stories have always been very specific and carefully worded.
After these latest accusations, a spokesperson for the Tory chairman said he “does not recognise these numbers” and has “never sought legal advice for dealing with HMRC”.
They also insisted Mr Zahawi’s taxes were up to date and fully paid in the UK.
Sources have briefed that Dan Neidle – who is a Labour member – is a “labour activist” and the allegations are merely taken from his “blog”.
One of Mr Zahawi’s more outspoken interventions came during the Number 10 leadership race in July last year though, when he said he was the victim of a “smear” over his financial affairs
That statement puts the cabinet minister in a difficult spot if concrete evidence emerges that he has repaid money to HMRC and potentially even been issued with a penalty.
The timing of any investigation or settlement could be important as well, given Mr Zahawi was briefly chancellor last year.
Ms Rayner called on HMRC to explain the nature of the payment and whether the former chancellor “has admitted fault or incurred financial penalties as part of his settlement”.
A spokesman for Mr Zahawi has said his taxes are “properly declared” and he “has never had to instruct any lawyers to deal with HMRC on his behalf”.
“As we have repeatedly said, Nadhim’s taxes are up to date and are fully paid in the UK. Mr Zahawi does not recognise these numbers and he has never sought legal advice for dealing with HMRC,” the spokesman said.
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Zahawi asked if he settled with HMRC
PM ‘has full confidence’ in Zahawi
Mr Sunak defended his colleague at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, saying Mr Zahawi “has already addressed this matter in full and there’s nothing more that I can add”.
Downing Street was pressed for more information during a press briefing on Friday.
Asked if any concerns had been raised about Mr Zahawi’s taxes before Mr Sunak made him party chair, the prime minister’s official spokesman said he was not aware of any “specific” conversations.
Before entering politics, Mr Zahawi co-founded YouGov and is thought to have a net worth of around £100m.
Questions over his tax affairs have been raised before – namely ahead of his short tenure as chancellor in the closing days of Boris Johnson’s premiership.
The Observer claimed civil servants in the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team alerted the prime minister to an HMRC “flag” over Mr Zahawi before his appointment, but Mr Johnson went ahead “despite the possible concerns over his tax affairs”.
The minister claimed he was “clearly being smeared” in his campaign to become Conservative Party leader, telling Sky News he had “always” paid his taxes and had “declared” them in the UK.
World
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
Read more:
Azerbaijan president hails oil and gas as ‘gift from God’
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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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