Rishi Sunak dismisses the president of his party, caught by the tax authorities

After paying the tax authorities, Nadhim Zahawi is paying the political price for his litigation. The chairman of the British Conservative Party has been sacked by his Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, Downing Street announced on Sunday. After an independent investigation, “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code”, wrote the head of government in a letter published by Downing Street.

“Accordingly, I inform you of my decision to remove you from your position in Her Majesty’s Government,” Rishi Sunak continued. By dismissing Nadhim Zahawi rather than asking him to resign, Rishi Sunak seeks to assert his authority, he who had promised on his arrival in Downing Street “integrity, professionalism and responsibility”.

A party tainted by several cases

Britain’s Prime Minister had instructed his independent ethics adviser on Monday to investigate whether Nadhim Zahawi, who sits in the cabinet, breached the cabinet code in connection with the multi-million pound settlement he had to pay for settle a dispute with the tax authorities. He had settled what he owed to the tax authorities, accompanied by penalties, last year, during his short-lived stint at the Ministry of Finance in the government of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He then became, with the arrival of Rishi Sunak in Downing Street at the end of October, chairman of the Conservative party and minister without portfolio in government.

Ethics adviser Laurie Magnus concluded that Nadhim Zahawi should have declared the tax investigation he was the subject of and should also have updated his declaration of interests once his dispute with the tax authorities has been settled. After 13 years in power, the Conservatives have seen their reputation tarnished by conflict of interest cases in recent years, fueling accusations of corruption from the Labor opposition, which is well ahead in the polls.

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