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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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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

More on Donald Trump

Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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