Nadhim Zahawi: Rishi Sunak orders investigation into Tory party chairman amid calls to sack him over tax row
Rishi Sunak has ordered an investigation into Nadhim Zahawi as he resisted calls to sack the Tory party chairman over his multimillion-pound tax dispute.
The prime minister asked new ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus on Monday to assess whether the cabinet minister breached the ministerial code with the HMRC settlement he made while he was chancellor, but it could extend to his prior tax arrangement and whether he lied to the media.
Mr Sunak retained confidence in the former chancellor but said he was launching an investigation because “clearly in this case there are questions that need answering”.
He added that he was not leader at the time of the allegations and insisted the advice he received when he gave Mr Zahawi a senior role was there was “no reason” not to appoint him.
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “He promised us, his first words, integrity and accountability.
“Well, if those words mean anything, the prime minister should sack him and sack him today and show some leadership.”
Politics live: Zahawi told to quit – amid ‘clear evidence’ TV interview defence was ‘not true’
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has also said Mr Zahawi’s position is “untenable”.
Earlier, a source close to the embattled Tory MP said he is “absolutely not going to resign” in the face of growing pressure over his settlement, estimated to be around £5m.
The government’s paymaster general, Jeremy Quin, told the Commons on Monday the process for the management of conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts, is “clear and robust”, however the PM has the ultimate say on appointments.
But he added: “It is a responsibility of all ministers to ensure that no conflict arises or could be reasonably perceived to arise between their role and their interests, financial or otherwise.”
The tax expert who investigated Mr Zahawi has joined calls for him to go, telling Sky News there is “clear evidence” he has not been truthful about his affairs.
Dan Neidle, the Founder of Tax Policy Associates and a Labour member, pointed to comments made by Mr Zahawi to Kay Burley last summer, while the then-chancellor was running to be leader of his party.
Mr Zahawi said he was “clearly being smeared” over questions about his affairs – and that he did not “benefit” from an “offshore trust”.
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Rishi Sunak has asked his independent ethics adviser to investigate Nadhim Zahawi
Speaking to Kay Burley on Monday, Mr Neidle said that a filing disclosure from YouGov – the polling company Mr Zahawi co-founded – showed he “received £99,000 from Balshore Investments”, a company based in Gibraltar.
Mr Neidle said: “That’s not my supposition or a guess – it’s absolute fact.
“And yet he denied that to you.”
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Mr Neidle said there could be “an innocent explanation” for Mr Zahawi’s tax error, which the Tory MP called “careless not deliberate”.
But he added: “I lack the imagination to see it and if there isn’t one, I think he should resign.”
What we still don’t know about Zahawi’s tax dispute
Nadhim Zahawi did not answer questions when he arrived at Conservative Party headquarters on Monday
Questions about Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs have continued, even after he released a statement to “address some of the confusion about my finances”.
On Saturday he admitted he paid what HMRC said “was due” after it “disagreed about the exact allocation” of shares in YouGov.
But he did not disclose the size of the settlement – reported to be an estimated £4.8m including a 30% penalty – or whether he paid a fine.
Sky News understands he did pay a fine, and Mr Neidle said the use of the word “careless” confirms this.
He said “careless means something specific” in tax terms – “that you didn’t behave in a reasonable way”.
“A reasonable way is you instruct decent tax advisers. You tell them the truth, you follow their advice, you check your final tax returns as best you can.”
It is also not clear how much money Mr Zahawi made before settling the dispute.
Mr Neidle said: “I think he would have received about £27m and not paid tax on it until eventually he was forced to because it was being reported. He didn’t admit it, denied it, threatened to sue people and went to HMRC to quietly settle it.”
Mr Zahawi did not answer questions from reporters as he headed into the Conservative Party headquarters in Westminster earlier on Monday.
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:
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‘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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