In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government can’t get enough of the negative headlines. Sunak sacked his Tory party’s general secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, over a tax affair and also ousted him from the cabinet, the PA news agency reported, citing the dismissal letter.
The head of government, who has been in office for less than 100 days, had previously commissioned an independent investigation into the allegations. So far, Zahawi has also had a seat in the cabinet as a minister with no particular area of responsibility.
The former finance minister has been under criticism for days because of his personal finances. According to media reports, the 55-year-old had paid the national tax authority a seven-figure sum to settle a dispute over his tax affairs. Zahawi also admitted this, but without naming a specific amount. The ex-minister is accused of using an offshore company in Gibraltar as part of his role as a shareholder in polling firm Yougov, which he co-founded.
The Conservative had come a long way. Born in Iraq, who came to Britain as a refugee at the age of nine, he has held various ministerial posts under former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
In his letter to Zahawi, Sunak wrote that he took office as prime minister to lead a government that stands for integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. The investigation revealed that there was a “serious breach of ministerial rules”.
It is not the first minister to leave the cabinet in the first 100 days of the Sunak government: ex-minister of state Gavin Williamson had to resign because of allegations of bullying.
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