Rishi Sunak calls for probe into Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs

Rishi Sunak has called for an investigation into the tax affairs of Nadhim Zahawi after he acknowledged that there were ‘questions that need answering’.

The Prime Minister has asked his ethics advisor to look into Zahawi’s taxes after there were suggestions that the Conservative Party chair was forced to pay a fine and millions of pounds in unpaid taxes to the HMRC.

The Prime Minister said that Mr Zahawi will continue to serve as chairman of the Conservative Party while the probe is conducted.

Mr Zahawi issued a statement on Saturday in which he confirmed he had reached a multi-million pound settlement with HMRC amid claims he had agreed to pay a penalty.

In the statement, Mr Zahawi noted that HMRC concluded he had made a ‘careless and not deliberate’ error. He also indicated that the agreement was made during his time as chancellor.

Defending the decision not to suspend Zahawi while Magnus’s inquiry is carried out, Mr Sunak said: “I think it is important we do these things professionally. Integrity and accountability’s really important to me, but it’s also important we do these things properly.”

There are growing calls for Mr Sunak to sack Mr Zahawi, with Labour claiming the latter’s position is ‘totally untenable’ and Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has called for Mr Zahawi to be sacked.

The Prime Minister said he would ‘decide on the appropriate next steps’ after he has seen Magnus’s report.