Zahawi admits 'careless' tax error as he fights to save job

Nadhim Zahawi has revealed that tax chiefs found he had made a "careless" rather than "deliberate" error as he settled his tax dispute with a multimillion-pound settlement.

- SIMON WALTERS RICH BOOTH

 But the Tory party chair also admitted that HMRC had rejected his claim about the amount of money that had been filed in his father's name.

Mr Zahawi, the former chancellor, made a statement addressing the £5m tax settlement - said to include a "million-pound" fine on yesterday as he fought for his political life. The Independent revealed last July that Mr Zahawi was subject to an investigation by HMRC linked to the sale of shares in polling company YouGov, which he founded 22 years ago.

In his statement, Mr Zahawi, who still attends cabinet, failed to address the reports of a fine directly. He said: "When we set [YouGov] up, I didn't have the money or the expertise to go it alone. So I asked my father to help. In the process, he took founder shares in the business in exchange for some capital and his invaluable guidance. Twenty-one years later, when I was being appointed chancellor of the Exchequer, questions were being raised about my tax affairs. I discussed this with the Cabinet Office at the time.