Decision came out of the blue, say sources, as Tory MPs ask what prime minister knew and when
has now been sacked and Rishi Sunak has vowed to “restore integrity” to UK politics, the prime minister still faces scrutiny over his handling of the whole affair.
The checks and balances of Whitehall’s system of ministerial declarations have also come under the spotlight. Here are some of the key questions that remain not fully answered.The prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, said Zahawi’s initial statement to the media in July – that he was not under investigation by– was “an untrue personal statement” and that the ministerial code had a “general duty to be accurate in statements to ensure a false impression is not given or maintained”.
Sir Tom Scholar was permanent secretary while Zahawi was chancellor – though removed by Kwasi Kwarteng when Liz Truss became prime minister. Furious allies of Zahawi have briefed that he told Scholar about the HMRC investigation and the fine – a claim that did not appear in the letter from Magnus to Sunak.
Was Sunak given an informal warning about the reputational risk around Zahawi and his tax affairs before he appointed him in October?
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