Government investigations are usually tediously slow affairs, designed to take the sting out of scandals as well as to ensure that evidence is gathered in painstaking good order. Rishi Sunak was desperate for the probe by his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, into Nadhim Zahawi's tax saga to be a quick one. No 10 will be grateful for the express delivery of the report, which led to the Tory chair's sacking yesterday, less than a week after it was ordered.
But it has not stopped some from speculating that Mr Sunak could simply have asked his own questions of Mr Zahawi, and sacked him more than a week ago - saving the party so many damaging headlines about a super-wealthy Tory minister in trouble with HMRC. Former Tory minister Michael Portillo said the delayed firing made Mr Sunak "look weak", and that the prime minister had "an opportunity to get rid of him earlier".
This story is from the January 30, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the January 30, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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