Sunak's deficit Tax scandal stops PM from changing the conversation

Rishi Sunak was in his sprawling constituency home in North Yorkshire when just after 7am on Sunday he received the report by Sir Laurie Magnus, his new ethics adviser, on whether Nadhim Zahawi had broken the ministerial code over his tax affairs.

- Pippa Crerar

The four-page document was damning, finding that the Tory party chair had breached the code on seven occasions, including by failing to declare the HMRC investigation into his finances and subsequent £5m ($6.2m) settlement including a penalty, even though they could have given rise to conflicts of interests.

Magnus’s inquiry, which took six days to complete, also found that Zahawi had failed to be “as open as possible with parliament and the public” when he dismissed media reports last July about the HMRC investigation as “inaccurate”, “unfair” and “clearly smears”.

Magnus, appointed in December after a six-month delay in filling the post, concluded that Zahawi had “shown insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code, under the requirements in particular … to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour”.

Sunak, who vowed to lead a government of “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” when he took over at No 10 last year, had little option but to sack Zahawi . Within the hour, and after informing aides, he had telephoned Zahawi to tell him he was out of the cabinet, and set the wheels in motion for the Downing Street announcement at 9am.