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After a prolonged period of intense scrutiny, Rishi Sunak has finally relented and taken action against Conservative Party Chair, Nadhim Zahawi. The senior politician has now been dismissed from his post, for a ‘serious breach’ of the Ministerial Code.
Zahawi had been caught up in a major tax scandal, which centred around his failure to pay tax on a windfall worth tens of millions of pounds. A series of strenuous denials and threats of litigation were put forward by his team – but the truth about his tangles with HMRC have come to the surface.
As Prime Minister, Mr. Sunak has also come under unrelenting fire. He stands accused of showing weakness on the matter, and critics have questioned why it has taken him so long to dismiss his colleague. For some, however, even this swing of the axe doesn’t cut deep enough.
The Liberal Democrats are now openly calling for Nadhim Zahawi to resign as an MP, arguing that he has shown he’s ‘unfit’ to serve in office. The party believe that Rishi Sunak has a case to answer here, too.
“Rishi Sunak’s first 100 days in office have been tarnished by endless Conservative Party sleaze scandals. Serious questions remain about what the Prime Minister actually knew about Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs, when he was appointed to the role.”
“Given this was a serious breach of the ministerial code, Zahawi must also do the right thing and resign as an MP. He has shown he is unfit to serve in Cabinet and unfit to serve the people of Stratford-on-Avon.” | Liberal Democrats
In a letter to Zahawi, the PM said that, following the investigation, which completed its work after only a few days, “it’s clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code”.
Mr Sunak and his Government had faced questions for several days about the row, with growing pressure on Mr Zahawi to stand aside. Although the outgoing chair initially stood his ground, Sunak eventually came to this inevitable conclusion.
