LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi after an investigation found he committed a serious breach by not being open about a tax probe, the latest scandal to hit one of Sunak s top ministers.
Sunak had initially stood by Zahawi before ordering an independent adviser to investigate questions over his tax affairs after it emerged Zahawi had settled a probe by Britain s tax authority HMRC last year.
Zahawi has said the tax body ruled he had been “careless” with his declarations but hadn t deliberately made an error to pay less tax, confirming he paid a penalty to HMRC.
Sunak s independent adviser Laurie Magnus said that Zahawi didn t declare that his tax affairs were being investigated when he was briefly made finance minister last year, and failed to disclose details when Sunak appointed him to his current role.
“Following the completion of the Independent Adviser s investigation … it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code,” Sunak said in a letter to Zahawi.
