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.”
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.
‘The public requires answers’
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.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Sudanese city of Al Fashir by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a two-day window after the paramilitary group captured the regional capital, analysts believe.
Sky News is not able to independently verify the claim by Yale Humanitarian Labs, as the city remains under a telecommunications blackout.
Stains and shapes resembling blood and corpses can be seen from space in satellite images analysed by the research lab.
Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
Al Fashir University. Pic: Airbus DS/2025
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale Humanitarian Labs, said: “In the past 48 hours since we’ve had [satellite] imagery over Al Fashir, we see a proliferation of objects that weren’t there before RSF took control of Al Fashir – they are approximately 1.3m to 2m long which is critical because in satellite imagery at very high resolution, that’s the average length of a human body lying vertical.”
Mini Minawi, the governor of North Darfur, said on X that 460 civilians have been killed in the last functioning hospital in the city.
The Sudan Doctors Network has also shared that the RSF “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside Al Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present in the wards”.
World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.
Satellite images support the claims of a massacre at Al Saudi Hospital, according to Mr Raymond, who said YHL’s report detailed “a large pile of them [objects believed to be bodies] against a wall at one building at Saudi hospital. And we believe that’s consistent with reports that patients and staff were executed en masse”.
In a video message released on Wednesday, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged “violations in Al Fashir” and claimed “an investigation committee should start to hold any soldier or officer accountable”.
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Army soldiers ‘fled key Sudan city’ before capture
The Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al Fashir. Pic: Airbus DS /2025 via AP
The commander is known for committing atrocities in Darfur in the early 2000s as a Janjaweed militia leader, and the RSF has been accused of carrying out genocide in Darfur 20 years on.
Sources have told Sky News the RSF is holding doctors, journalists and politicians captive, demanding ransoms from some families to release their loved ones.
One video shows a man from Al Fashir with an armed man kneeling on the ground, telling his family to pay 15,000. The currency was not made clear.
In some cases, ransoms have been paid, but then more messages come demanding that more money be transferred to secure release.
Muammer Ibrahim, a journalist based in the city, is currently being held by the RSF, who initially shared videos of him crouched on the ground, surrounded by fighters, announcing his hometown had been captured under duress.
Read more:
Key Sudan city falls – what does this mean for the war?
‘Massacre’ kills more than 50, including children
200,000 trapped after army flees
He is being held incommunicado as his family scrambles to negotiate his release. Muammer courageously covered the siege of Al Fashir for months, enduring starvation and shelling.
The Committee to Protect Journalists regional director Sara Qudah said the abduction of Muammar Ibrahim “is a grave and alarming reminder that journalists in Al Fashir are being targeted simply for telling the truth”.
At least 30 people have died after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean on Wednesday.
The Red Cross said early indications show the storm has been a “disaster of unprecedented catastrophe”.
Storm Melissa has so far ravaged through Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
At least 34 are estimated to be dead in the Caribbean, with eight of those in Jamaica, one in the Dominican Republic and 25 in Haiti.
This was down from a previously reported 40.
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‘Unimaginable’ destruction of Hurricane Melissa
‘Heartbreaking’ aerial footage reveals scale of destruction
Later on Wednesday, the Jamaican government confirmed four people – three men and one woman – had been killed. This figure later rose to eight.
Local government minister, Desmond McKenzie, said: “They were discovered after being washed up by the flood waters generated by the hurricane.”
Devastating aerial footage shows towns destroyed by the storm.
The Jamaican prime minister, Andrew Holness, travelled to St Elizabeth, where the first deaths were reported, to inspect the storm’s impact.
Read more:
Do we need new ‘category 6’ for most extreme storms?
Sharing aerial footage of battered homes, he wrote: “The damage is great, but we are going to devote all our energy to mount a strong recovery.”
The storm made landfall in Cuba in the early hours of Wednesday morning before leaving mid-afternoon, heading towards the Bahamas.
Hurricane Melissa has ravaged through the Caribbean. Pic: Reuters
‘Whole communities are underwater’
Alexander Pendry, British Red Cross global response manager, said: “News is already coming through that whole communities are underwater and that the damage left by the strong winds has been devastating.
“The Jamaica Red Cross has been proactively supporting communities by preparing essential supplies and managing shelters. Their priority now is to reach people with aid as soon as possible.
“Across the Caribbean, Red Cross teams have been mobilising as Melissa continues its trajectory across Cuba, Dominican Republic and Haiti.”
He added: “Tragically, experience tells us that the impact on communities and individuals will be shattering and long lasting.
“We will be here for as long as people need us.”
World
Suspects arrested over Louvre heist ‘partially admit involvement’ – as officials address inside job theory
The two suspects arrested over the Louvre jewellery heist have “partially” confessed to their involvement in the robbery, according to a prosecutor.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed the development at a news conference on Wednesday.
Four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the world-famous Paris museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels. They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift.
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Suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially confessed’
Ms Beccuau also said the jewels had not yet been recovered.
“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” said Ms Beccuau. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”
‘No evidence’
Ms Beccuau also addressed reports that police believe the robbery could have been an inside job.
She said that there was “no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help”.
Under French rules for organised theft, custody can run up to 96 hours. That limit is due to expire late on Wednesday, and prosecutors must charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speaks during a press conference about the investigation into the Louvre robbery. Pic: Reuters
One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
Ms Beccuau said that he was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences.
The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” said Ms Beccuau.
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Louvre jewels ‘have not returned’
The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind, she added.
Earlier, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told politicians that ageing security systems had left weak spots.
“A technological step has not been taken,” he said.
Read more:
Prosecutor furious as news leaks of Louvre arrests
Makers of lift used by Louvre thieves reveal cheeky advert
Mr Faure also revealed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and had not been renewed.
He said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Mr Faure also rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast and mobile thieves.
“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”
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