British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday ordered an independent investigation into the tax affairs of scandal-hit Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi amid mounting pressure from the Opposition.
After days of headlines over the Iraqi-born minister without portfolio in his Cabinet's alleged penalty settlement with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department, Sunak said there were “questions that need answering” in the case which his independent ethics advisor will be looking into.
The issue has dominated the news agenda for his government in recent days, with the Opposition Labour Party demanding that Zahawi, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, be sacked.
"Integrity and accountability is really important to me and clearly in this case there are questions that need answering,” Sunak told reporters during a visit to a hospital in Northamptonshire in eastern England.
“That's why I've asked our independent adviser to get to the bottom of everything, to investigate the matter fully and establish all the facts and provide advice to me on Nadhim Zahawi's compliance with the ministerial code,” he said.
In response, Zahawi said he welcomed the investigation and looked forward to "explaining the facts of this issue" to Sir Laurie Magnus — the UK Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers Interests.