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Rishi Sunak’s first three months as prime minister have been far from plain sailing.

Significant storm clouds are hanging over the government as the prime minister looks to overturn Labour’s commanding lead in the polls.

Despite Mr Sunak trying to distance himself from the turbulent premiership of Boris Johnson, rows over propriety and standards have continued.

Here, Sky News looks at the scandals and U-turns during his time as PM – including his sacking of Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi.

Follow reaction to Zahawi’s sacking – live updates

Suella Braverman

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman walks outside Number 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Just a few days into his premiership, Mr Sunak was under significant pressure over his reappointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary after a former party chair claimed she had committed “multiple breaches” of the ministerial code.

The week before, Ms Braverman had resigned from the same role in former PM Liz Truss’s government after using her personal email address to forward sensitive government documents, breaking the rules ministers have to abide by.

But Mr Sunak put her back into the Home Office on the following Tuesday, and stood by the decision after being pressed on it in the Commons the next day.

Former Tory Party chair Sir Jake Berry alleged “there were multiple breaches of the ministerial code”, while Nadhim Zahawi said officials within the Cabinet Office had warned against bringing her back due to security breaches.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Sunak of having done a “grubby deal” with Ms Braverman – a figure popular on the right of the party – in order to secure the keys to Number 10.

But the PM resisted the calls to sack Ms Braverman and she remains in post as home secretary.

Gavin Williamson

Cabinet Office minister Sir Gavin Williamson has strongly rejected the claims made by the former senior civil servant.

Mr Sunak’s judgement came under further scrutiny just a few weeks later after cabinet minister Sir Gavin Williamson quit, vowing to clear his name over bullying claims.

Sir Gavin, who at the time was attending cabinet as a minister without portfolio, was accused of abusive behaviour towards MPs and civil servants – but denies any wrongdoing.

He was accused of sending abusive text messages to Wendy Morton, the former chief whip under Liz Truss, complaining that he and other colleagues had been excluded from the Queen’s funeral for political reasons.

The prime minister tried to let an independent investigation into the matter run its course, defending Sir Gavin in media interviews for “expressing regret” while condemning his language.

But Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper accused Mr Sunak of ignoring the complaint and called for Sir Gavin to be sacked.

Sir Gavin was previously fired as defence secretary in May 2019 over allegations of leaking info from National Security Council meetings, and lost his job as education secretary after two years when Mr Johnson decided to drop him in a cabinet reshuffle.

But Mr Sunak did not pull the trigger to axe one of his biggest backers behind the scenes, with Sir Gavin opting to quit himself over the row.

Dominic Raab

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab arriving in Downing Street

In November, numerous allegations about Justice Secretary Dominic Raab’s behaviour surfaced relating to his previous stint in the role under Mr Johnson, with staff reportedly offered a “route out” of his department when he was reinstated in October.

Civil servants who worked with him told The Guardian he was a “very rude and aggressive” boss while another report claimed the justice secretary had acquired the nickname “The Incinerator” because he “burns through” staff.

Despite the allegations, Mr Sunak stood by his close ally, telling reporters: “I don’t recognise that characterisation of Dominic and I’m not aware of any formal complaints about him.”

But additional weight was added to the claims following a report by Bloomberg that Simon Case, the head of the civil service, was told by senior officials of concerns about Mr Raab’s abrasive treatment of junior staff and took steps to try to improve his behaviour.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson at the time said: “We have no record of any formal complaints.”

It was revealed that Mr Raab has reportedly been the subject of formal bullying complaints by at least 24 civil servants.

Eight formal allegations have been levelled against the deputy prime minister and are being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC.

But the PM has resisted calls to suspend Mr Raab while the probe is conducted.

Nadhim Zahawi

Nadhim Zahawi looks on outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters

Earlier this month, The Sun On Sunday published a report claiming Mr Zahawi had paid a seven-figure sum to settle a tax dispute over the sale of his YouGov shares.

The shares, worth an estimated £27m, were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar linked to Mr Zahawi’s family.

Sky News understands that, as part of a settlement with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Mr Zahawi paid a penalty to the tax collector.

Mr Sunak ordered an investigation by Sir Laurie Magnus, his independent adviser on ministers’ interests, into whether Mr Zahawi broke ministerial rules over the estimated £4.8m bill he apparently settled with HMRC while he was chancellor.

Who is Nadhim Zahawi?

The PM told MPs that while it would have been “politically expedient” to sack Mr Zahawi, “due process” meant that the investigation into his tax affairs should be allowed to reach its conclusion.

Mr Zahawi said HMRC concluded there had been a “careless and not deliberate” error in the way the shares had been treated and has insisted he is “confident” and has “acted properly throughout”.

However on Sunday, the PM sacked Mr Zahawi as Tory party chairman after the inquiry into the handling of his tax affairs found a “serious breach” of the ministerial code.

Seatbelt fine

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‘I regret not wearing a seatbelt’

Mr Sunak was given a fixed penalty notice after being caught not wearing a seatbelt.

Lancashire Police issued the notice after the prime minister appeared without a belt in a clip on Instagram as he promoted his levelling-up funding policies in the county.

Mr Sunak accepted the fine. Fines of up to £500 can be issued for failing to wear a seatbelt when one is available.

In a statement, Number 10 said: “The prime minister fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologised. He will of course comply with the fixed penalty.”

After being issued with the fixed penalty notice, Mr Sunak became the second serving prime minister – after Mr Johnson – to be found to have broken the law while in office.

Like Mr Johnson, he has previously been fined by the Met Police for breaking lockdown rules.

After the seatbelt fine, Labour said the prime minister has been turned into a “laughing stock”.

Multiple U-turns

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Has the PM made a U-turn on onshore wind farms?

Within the first three months of his premiership, Mr Sunak has also been forced to carry out a series of U-turns to appease Conservative backbench MPs.

Mandatory housebuilding targets were ditched following pressure from the PM’s own side.

Facing a rebel amendment from around 30 Tory MPs – including former PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – Mr Sunak also U-turned over a ban on onshore wind by saying turbines could be installed if the projects gain the support of local communities.

Mr Sunak’s line that he would not attend the COP27 climate summit in Egypt due to “pressing domestic commitments” was also reversed following outrage from environmental campaigners – with COP26 President Alok Sharma saying he was “pretty disappointed” by the prime minister’s original decision, and the PM ultimately giving way to pressure to attend.

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‘People were crying, they were trapped’: Spain reels from deadly flash floods

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'People were crying, they were trapped': Spain reels from deadly flash floods

Emergency responders are searching for bodies inside stranded cars and buildings following deadly flash floods in Spain that have killed at least 158 people.

Scenes of destruction have been left in the wake of the powerful floodwaters which hit the east of the country late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, marking Spain‘s worst natural disaster this century.

Cars have been piled high on top of each other, homes and businesses have been swept away, trees have been uprooted, and roads and bridges have been left unrecognisable.

Spain flooding latest: Looting breaks out as flood deaths rise

Damaged cars are seen along a road affected by torrential rains that caused flooding, on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Damaged cars along a road on the outskirts of Valencia. Pic: Reuters

People work to clear a mud-covered street with piled up cars in the aftermath of torrential rains that caused flooding, in Paiporta, Spain, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Eva Manez
Image:
People work to clear a mud-covered street in Paiporta. Pic: Reuters

At least 92 people have died in the worst-hit region of Valencia, while deaths were also reported in Castilla La Mancha and southern Andalusia.

An unknown number of people remain missing.

“Unfortunately, there are dead people inside some vehicles,” Spain’s transport minister Oscar Puente said.

In the Valencian district of La Torre, nine dead bodies were discovered inside a garage – with a local police officer among the victims.

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Man pulled from deadly floods

Luis Sanchez, a welder, said he saved several people from floodwaters rushing through the V-31 motorway south of Valencia city.

“I saw bodies floating past. I called out but nothing,” Mr Sanchez said.

“The firefighters took the elderly first, when they could get in. I am from nearby so I tried to help and rescue people. People were crying all over, they were trapped.”

Read more on this story:
Lives have been ripped apart in Spain
Floods hit ‘like a tsunami’ – eyewitness

Satellite images from NASA show how severe flooding has impacted Valencia and its surrounding towns.

The images, captured on 30 October, show large areas to the south of the city covered in floodwater.

The Turia river, which runs through the city, can be seen at a much higher level.

The Pobles del Sud, a large lake nearby, overflowed. Much of the area surrounding the lake was covered in floodwater.

The worst of the destruction was concentrated in Paiporta, a municipality next to Valencia city, where 62 people have been reported dead.

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Spanish town ‘worst-hit’ by floods

Mayor Maribel Albalat told national broadcaster RTVE: “We found a lot of elderly people in the town centre. There were also a lot of people who came to get their cars out of their garages… it was a real trap.”

What has caused the devastation?

The flooding events in Spain have been hard to witness. But the rainfall there could never have been anything but devastating.

Chiva, located just to the west of Valencia, received 491mm of rain in an eight-hour window.

Some 100-200mm fell in surrounding areas with the accumulation of running water producing apocalyptic scenes.

In addition there have been over 20,000 lightning strikes.

Whilst the rainfall totals are astounding in themselves, this part of the world is simply not accustomed to huge quantities of water falling from the sky.

In an average year, Spain would expect somewhere between 50 and 100 mm of rain throughout the entire month of October but Valencia and Andalusia would expect far less – just 60–70mm. 

So how did this happen? It’s attributable to a DANA, a “depresion aislada en niveles altos” or a “cut-off low”. 

This is a low pressure system which becomes slow moving or stationary, blocked by high pressure elsewhere, which can only keep shedding its rain over the same area for long periods of time.

These systems are not that unusual. They occur when cool air from the north is drawn across the Mediterranean in late summer and autumn when the waters are war. The temperature differential enhances storms and rainfall totals.

But whilst not uncommon, this one was certainly extreme. 

And it hasn’t gone yet. This same system has continued to bring further heavy rain and thunderstorms today, but it has now moved a little further north and east, heading toward the French border and currently remaining to the west of Barcelona. 

The rain and thunderstorms are likely to continue for a few days yet with the Tarragona and Castellon regions still under an amber warning while a yellow warning remains in force for both eastern and western Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday morning that Valencia had been declared a disaster zone and that the priority was to find victims and missing people.

He also urged those affected to stay at home as more torrential rain was forecast.

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“The most important thing is that I know Spanish people are aware that this phenomenon has not finished,” he said.

Sky News’ Europe correspondent Adam Parsons, reporting from Valencia, said the devastation suffered in the region is “enormous”.

“What we’re witnessing now are the locals here who are waking up and seeing what’s happened to their town and what has happened is something almost apocalyptic,” he said.

A nearby shop was left “absolutely wrecked” and looked like a “bomb has gone off in there”, he added.

Three days of mourning has been declared in Spain, beginning on Thursday.

Spain’s Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flood event in recent memory, and scientists have linked its strength to climate change.

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‘No one came to rescue us’: In this destroyed Spanish town, people are angry

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'No one came to rescue us': In this destroyed Spanish town, people are angry

In the Spanish town of Algemesi, people are angry.

The suburb of Raval was one of the worst hit by flash flooding but residents feel abandoned.

At least 158 people have been killed in the disaster in eastern Spain – with the worst of the flooding concentrated around the Valencia region.

Spain floods latest: Looting breaks out as flood deaths surpass 150

“When the alert came the water was already two metres high,” Carolina shouts from her balcony. “There were no police, firefighters or the mayor. No one came to rescue us.”

The distress is echoed street after street.

Carmen puts her head in her hands and weeps.

“They have lost everything,” she says, pointing at her neighbours’ houses.

Read more:
‘People were crying, they were trapped’
Utterly random damage in town where 40 died

Every home is in ruins and their owners are heartbroken.

Dolores shows us inside her house. She says the flood was up to the ceiling but because no help came, they have had to hammer holes in the walls to clear the water.

“I feel awful. I’m terrified and very afraid. My husband is sick – we need more help,” she says.

Carmen says her neighbours have lost everything
Image:
Dolores says her family had to hammer holes into the walls of their home

The level of destruction is immense.

On the street, we meet Noel with his children. The youngest toddler barefoot in the mud.

Yesterday, Noel and his wife had nothing to eat. He feels helpless.

Noel says he doesn't have access to water, light or food
Image:
Noel says he doesn’t have access to water, light or food

“Right now, there are people who are trapped. The mud is up to their waists, so they can’t open their doors,” he says.

“I live on a high floor so I didn’t have problems with the flooding in my home, but I don’t have water, light, or food.”

There’s a growing feeling of desperation in this suburb.

At one point, someone shouts “food!” and people rush to grab what they can from a nearby shop.

It’s not clear if they have been let in by the owner or are looting.

The devastation is so great and at a time when people are at their most in need, they feel frustrated and alone.

In a nearby shelter we meet people from Algemesi who have been made homeless by the flood.

Carol says she has never felt so hopeless.

Carol says there is 'nothing left'
Image:
Carol says there is ‘nothing left’

“There was a tree trunk that came into the front of my house. There are no walls, no ceiling. I don’t have anything. There’s nothing left,” she explains, beginning to cry.

For many, the initial trauma of this natural disaster has been compounded in the aftermath by a feeling of loss and loneliness.

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Ukraine war: Thousands of North Korean troops near Ukraine border will enter battle ‘within days’, says Blinken

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Ukraine war: Thousands of North Korean troops near Ukraine border will enter battle 'within days', says Blinken

Thousands of North Korean soldiers are now positioned near Ukraine’s border and likely to enter combat in the coming days, the US says.

Russian troops have been training them in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing”, said US secretary of state Antony Blinken.

He said it strongly indicated they would be used on the front line and would therefore become legitimate targets for Ukraine.

Some 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia, including up to 8,000 in the Kursk border region, Mr Blinken said.

The troops are wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian gear, according to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin.

Read more: Where have North Korea troops been seen in Russia?

“We’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the
coming days,” Mr Blinken said on Thursday.

More on Antony Blinken

America’s top diplomat said the recruitment of troops from North Korea to Russia’s “meat grinder” was a “clear sign of weakness”.

South Korea and the US discussed the issue in Washington on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A South Korean and US delegation met in Washington DC. Pic: Reuters

Mr Blinken made the assessment after he and Mr Austin met their South Korean counterparts in Washington DC.

Foreign minister Cho Tae-yul called for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean soldiers from Russia and condemned it “in the strongest possible terms”.

They also all agreed China should do more to rein in North Korea, Mr Blinken said, adding that he’d had a “robust conversation” with Beijing this week.

Image:
The Kursk region borders eastern Ukraine

Mr Austin also announced that – with the US election just days away – America would soon be announcing new security assistance for Ukraine.

The deployment of troops to Russia is down to the close relationship between President Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

The leaders last met in June when Mr Putin travelled to North Korea for the first time in 24 years.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un together in Pyongyang in June. Pic: Reuters
Image:
President Putin and Kim Jong Un went for a drive together in Pyongyang in June. Pic: Reuters

A mutual defence pact was agreed during their summit, meaning the countries will help each other if they are attacked.

The US says North Korea has also given munitions to Russia as it continues its grinding effort to take more territory in Ukraine’s east.

The White House published images earlier this month which it said showed 1,000 containers of equipment being sent to Russia by rail.

There are concerns about what military aid Russia will now provide in exchange.

North Korea test-fired an an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in almost a year on Thursday and there is speculation Russia may have provided technological help.

South Korean TV showed pictures of Thursday's launch by the North. Pic: AP
Image:
South Korean TV showed pictures of Thursday’s launch by the North. Pic: AP

In a statement, the US, Japan and South Korea condemned the launch as a “flagrant violation” of UN resolutions.

“We strongly urge (North Korea) to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilising actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,” they said.

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