Rishi Sunak urged to ‘come clean’ over what he knew about Nadhim Zahawi tax scandal after Tory chairman’s sacking
Rishi Sunak has been urged by Labour to “come clean” over what he knew about Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs after the PM sacked the Tory party chairman on Sunday.
An ethics inquiry into the handling of Mr Zahawi’s finances found a “serious breach” of the ministerial code and Mr Sunak swiftly removed the Tory chairman from his position.
But the PM remains under pressure to outline what he knew about the investigation into Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs and when.
‘Charismatic’ Johnson suggested as Zahawi replacement – politics latest
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner and chairwoman Anneliese Dodds have written to Mr Sunak asking him to give the public “full transparency”.
The letter includes a range of questions for the prime minister to answer:
• When he was made aware of the HMRC investigation into Zahawi’s tax affairs and if he knew the former Party Chair had agreed a multi-million pound settlement with the taxman
• Why he previously stated at PMQs that all questions on this issue had been answered
• What discussions he had with Zahawi before appointing him to his cabinet
• When he will keep his promise to publish his own tax return for the 2022/23 tax year
• If any Conservative ministers had failed to submit their declaration of interests, and when the next register would be published.
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What is going on with Zahawi’s taxes?
Ms Dodds described Mr Sunak as “weak” for not sacking Mr Zahawi “when this murky affair first surfaced”.
“Rishi Sunak has eventually relented to pressure and sacked Nadhim Zahawi,” she said.
“This doesn’t change the fact that his government is drowning in sleaze, with whole rogues’ gallery of ministers being investigated for security breaches, bullying allegations and murky tax affairs.
“We need to know precisely what Rishi Sunak knew about Zahawi’s tax affairs and the HMRC investigation, why he was appointed to the cabinet in the first place, and when the prime minister will be transparent about his own tax return.”
Ms Rayner added: “This hopelessly weak prime minister has been dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago.
“Rishi Sunak shouldn’t have needed an ethics adviser to tell him that Nadhim Zahawi’s position was untenable, but instead he continued to prop up the man he appointed to cabinet.
“He must now come clean on the advice he was given about that appointment in the first place and why he apparently ignored the warnings.”
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Nadhim Zahawi’s life in politics
Mr Sunak had resisted earlier calls from opposition parties to sack Mr Zahawi as Tory party chairman following reports that he had paid a penalty as part of an estimated £4.8m settlement dispute with HMRC.
He had instead asked his new ethics adviser – Sir Laurie Magnus – to assess whether the settlement amounted to a breach of the ministerial code.
In a letter written by Sir Laurie to the PM on Sunday morning following the conclusion of the investigation, the ethics adviser said Mr Zahawi had “shown insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code” and had not fulfilled the requirements of being an “honest, open and an exemplary leader”.
In the correspondence to Mr Sunak released by Downing Street, Sir Laurie said his overall judgement was that the “omissions” by Mr Zahawi regarding his tax affairs “constitute a serious failure to meet the standards set out in the ministerial code”.
In a second letter written by the PM to Mr Zahawi following Sir Laurie’s findings, Mr Sunak said it is “clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code” and announced the removal of the Tory chairman from his ministerial position.
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Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked
Informing Mr Zahawi of his decision to remove him from government, Mr Sunak wrote: “Following the completion of the independent adviser’s investigation – the findings of which he has shared with us both – it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.
“As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government.”
Read more:
Who is Nadhim Zahawi? The politician sacked over his tax affairs?
Rishi Sunak: From Zahawi and Raab to seatbelt gaffe – the U-turns and scandals of his first months as PM
The row surrounding Mr Zahawi had centred on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov – the polling firm he founded worth an estimated £27m – which were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawi’s family.
Mr Zahawi had insisted he was “confident” he had “acted properly throughout”.
In a statement on Sunday morning, the Lib Dems said Mr Zahawi should also step down from his role as an MP as he is “unfit to serve the people of Stratford-upon-Avon”.
But in a letter to Mr Sunak following his sacking – in which he made no apology for his actions – Mr Zahawi told the PM he can be “assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years”.
Speaking shortly after Mr Zahawi’s sacking, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove told reporters Mr Sunak had taken “decisive action” following the publication of Sir Laurie’s report.
World
‘Now is our time’: Despite tariffs, China’s Silicon Valley is ready to make its mark on the world
The city of Hangzhou is one of the most historic and beautiful in China.
But this ancient place now has the most modern of reputations, as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.
A vibrant hub for entrepreneurs and high-tech start-ups, Hangzhou is home to headline-grabbing success stories like Alibaba and breakthrough AI firm, DeepSeek.
In the context of escalating competition with America, the world is increasingly paying attention.
Those who are part of the tech scene here brim with enthusiasm.
Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, has been labelled ‘China’s Silicon Valley’
Over coffee, in an ultra-modern city complex, they describe how exciting this moment feels, not just for their businesses, but for China too.
“We have the talents, we have the environment, and we have the full supply chain, even though we have a challenging environment,” says Grace Zheng, who has worked at the AI glasses creator Looktech since its inception.
“It’s our time.”
The others laugh and nod. “I agree with it,” says Jia Dou, whose company Wuli Coffee, creates high-tech, automated commercial coffee machines. “And I think it’s our time to show and battle with other foreign countries.”
Grace Zheng is enthusiastic about the future for China
And is that a battle China could now win, I ask? “Of course,” comes the answer.
They tell stories of how estate agents in Hangzhou dedicated hours of their time for free to find the perfect laboratory space, and how the local government showered them in grants and incentives; so hungry is this city for tech success.
These entrepreneurs in Hangzhou say the city supports a vibrant hub of tech start-ups
“Hangzhou says we’ll provide the sunshine and the water, you go ahead and grow,” explains Zhang Jie.
She is the convenor of this group. An entrepreneur herself and the founder of a thriving ‘incubator’ for start-ups, she has invested in and mentored all the others around the table.
She is passionate, energetic and has a second-to-none understanding of what makes Hangzhou and China’s tech scene so successful.
“In China, we have more than 10 million university and college students graduating. Then we’re talking about at least five to six million engineers with college education background,” she says.
“So with such a large group of young and intelligent people with a good environment, a favourable environment for entrepreneurship, I’m sure there will be even greater companies coming in the future.”
Zhang Jie helps start-ups in Hangzhou, where she says entrepreneurship is able to thrive
Indeed, a combination of light-touch local regulation, (unusual in China more broadly), coupled with one of the most business-oriented and free-thinking universities in the country, Zhejiang University, is viewed by many as the secret sauce in Hangzhou.
Zhang says she has had more young people approach her with business ideas in the last quarter than at any other time before, and she is full of optimism about the current wave.
“They are already companies [in China that will] probably be greater than Apple, right?” She laughs.
And she may well be right.
But there is one name in particular, born and bred in Hangzhou, that has captured the world’s attention in recent months.
When DeepSeek unveiled its latest open-source AI model earlier this year, it stunned the world, claiming to be as good as western competitors for a fraction of the price.
The Hangzhou HQ of DeepSeek, which has stunned the world with its recent AI advances
Many are now talking about the ‘DeepSeek moment’, a moment that turbocharged confidence within China and made the rest of the world sit up and take notice.
Indeed, successes like this are being lauded by China’s leaders. In February, tech bosses, including DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng, were invited to a symposium with Xi Jinping and his top team.
Photo ops and handshakes with the president, an abrupt change from the crackdown they faced just a few years ago. In fact, tech is now being positioned as a key pillar in China’s future economy, repeatedly highlighted in official communications.
But what is seen as inspiring innovation in China is viewed by the United States as a threat.
Donald Trump is moving to ramp up restrictions, including more export controls on chips being sold to China.
Read more from Sky News:
What is DeepSeek?
China raises tariffs on US
Businesses in Hangzhou are of course aware of the trade war unfolding around them, many who export to America will take a significant hit, but most think they can cope.
Dr Song Ning is one of them. He proudly shows us his factory, which is integrated with the lab work and R&D side of his business.
His company, Diagens, uses AI to massively speed up medical diagnostics, cutting the time taken to run a chromosomal screening from 30 days to 4. He is also working on a chatbot called WiseDiag which has more advanced medical understanding and can be used by patients.
This lab at the firm Diagens is using AI to speed up medical diagnostics
While they are actively seeking business in over 35 foreign countries, for now, the pursuit of American customers is on pause.
“Competition is a good thing… it makes us all stronger,” he says.
Dr Song Ning believes Donald Trump’s policies will not be able to impede innovation
“I do not think by limiting the scientific and technological progress of China or other countries, Trump will be able to achieve his goal, I think it is a false premise.
“Information is so developed now, each country has very smart people, it will only force us to have more tech innovation.”
While individuals remain defiant, the trade war will still leave a big hole in China’s economy. Tech firms, however advanced, can’t yet fill that gap.
But the innovation here is rapid, and there is no doubt, it will leave its mark on the world.
Mourners will be able to view the body of Pope Francis lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica from Wednesday, ahead of his funeral this weekend.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to the Vatican over the next three days to pay their respects to the pontiff, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.
After his funeral on Saturday morning (9am UK time) there will be a nine-day period of mourning, known as the “novendiali”, after which the secretive meeting – called the conclave – will begin to elect a new pope.
Pope Francis: Follow the latest
The conclave to choose his successor must start between 5 and 10 May.
The first images of his body were released on Tuesday, showing him in red vestments and his bishop’s mitre in a wooden casket.
The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, standing over the body of Pope Francis. Pic: Reuters
The Vatican secretary of state was shown praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died.
Previous popes were entombed in three coffins: the first made of wood, another of lead and a third, again made of wood. But in 2024, Francis changed the rules and said that only one coffin, a wooden one lined in zinc, should be used.
In a break from tradition, he will be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), according to his wishes.
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3D map shows pope’s funeral route
Following the pope’s death, from a stroke and heart failure, world leaders have praised his moral leadership and compassion.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer described him as “a quite remarkable man, and the work and commitment that he put into fairness over so many years, and globally, I think will be a real lasting legacy”.
Sir Keir will join a growing list of dignitaries who will attend the funeral on Saturday, including Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin, Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, and Donald Trump.
Read more from Sky News:
St Peter’s Square full of smiles
How accurate is Conclave?
What next after the Pope?
Huge numbers have attended the funerals of Pope Francis’s predecessors.
In 2023, around 50,000 people attended the funeral of Benedict XVI, according to the Washington Post. In 2005, around 300,000 went to the funeral of John Paul II.
Once the conclave begins, cardinals vote in secret sessions in the Sistine Chapel.
After voting sessions, the ballots are burned in a special stove. Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected, while white smoke indicates that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis died little more than half an hour after being taken ill, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
Pope Francis woke at 6am on Monday, and was fine for at least an hour, sources said, as they revealed details of the pontiff’s final moments.
Around 7am, the Vatican’s medical unit received an emergency call from his Casa Santa Marta apartment.
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Where will Pope Francis be buried?
Pope latest – Prince William to attend funeral
An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.
A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.
Francis died at the age of 88, a day after making his final public appearance at St Peter’s Square, where he greeted crowds on Easter Sunday, one of the most important days of the Christian calendar.
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First images of pope’s casket
The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.
Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.
The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.
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‘Many were in tears, I was in tears’
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.
Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.
The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.
He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.
Prince William will attend the funeral on behalf of King Charles, Kensington Palace has said.
Cardinals will gather in a conclave to choose his successor afterwards.
Read more:
Is the Conclave movie accurate?
Pope Francis: A life in pictures
Francis was a champion of the deprived
Inside Vatican City at moment of high tension
Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.
Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.
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