Could Boris Johnson become Tory chairman? Former PM is backed for position by Jacob Rees-Mogg
Could Boris Johnson become Tory chairman? Former PM is backed for position by Jacob Rees-Mogg after Nadhim Zahawi was SACKED by Rishi Sunak for breaking ministerial rules SEVEN times
- Nadhim Zahawi was sacked by the PM over a ‘serious breach’ of ministerial rules
- Tory chairman’s exit follows a row over tax affairs after he paid penalty to HMRC
- Now, speculation mounts that Boris Johnson could return as Tory chairman
Senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has today backed former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to replace sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman.
The ex-business secretary hailed the former prime minister for having ‘all the right attributes’ to fill Mr Zahawi’s role.
‘He is charismatic, he rallies the troops,’ Mr Rees-Mogg told GB News of Mr Johnson. He’s a sort of fully-loaded Conservative. So I think that type of personality would be a very good one for a party chairman.’
But Mr Rees-Mogg admitted it was unlikely that Rishi Sunak would appoint Mr Johnson to his Cabinet due to their past differences. He added: ‘The former PM and the PM are inevitably not going to be the closest of political allies, just under the circumstances of the summer.’
Senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg today backed Boris Johnson (pictured) to replace sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Tory chairman
Ex-business secretary Rees-Mogg hailed the former prime minister for having ‘all the right attributes’ to fill Mr Zahawi’s role
Nadhim Zahawi is facing calls to quit as an MP after being sacked from Government by the Prime Minister after he was found to have committed a ‘serious breach’ of ministerial rules.
The Tory chairman’s exit comes as a result of a furious row over his tax affairs after he was revealed to have paid a penalty to HMRC as part of a tax bill.
The sum handed over to the tax authorities by Mr Zahawi is reported to be at least £4.8million, including a £1.1million penalty.
The revelation Mr Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC forced Rishi Sunak – who is claimed to be ‘livid’ at the controversy – to this week order an investigation by his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus.
Sir Laurie has now ruled against Mr Zahawi for failing to properly disclose the tax dispute when he was appointed to various Government roles.
He outlined seven breaches of ministerial rules by Mr Zahawi in a damning four-page report.
Mr Sunak was today told by a Tory ex-minister he’s been left looking ‘weak’ by the ‘extremely toxic’ saga and for failing to have fired Mr Zahawi sooner when his tax penalty first came to light.
Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked from Government by the Prime Minister after he was found to have committed a ‘serious breach’ of ministerial rules
Mr Zahawi was lambasted by the PM’s ethics adviser for failing to properly disclose the tax dispute with HMRC when he was appointed Chancellor last July
The dramatic culmination to the row over Mr Zahawi will come as a huge blow to the PM, who is due to mark his first 100 days in No10 this week
In a letter to Mr Zahawi today, Mr Sunak said the departing Tory chairman had committed ‘a serious breach of the ministerial code’
Michael Portillo, who served in John Major’s Cabinet, told GB News that Mr Sunak ‘must have been kicking himself all week that he decided to refer this to an investigation rather than going with a decision straight away’.
He added the row had done ‘terrible damage’ to the Government.
Labour today attempted to pile the pressure on Mr Sunak over the scandal, with deputy leader Angela Rayner and party chair Anneliese Dodds writing to the PM to demand he ‘come clean’ about what he knew and when.
Opposition MPs were also calling for Mr Zahawi to quit Parliament entirely and resign as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.
After being sacked by the PM, Mr Zahawi today pledged his support to Mr Sunak from the back benches of the House of Commons.
But he also lashed out at media coverage of his tax scandal and offered an apology to his family for ‘the toll this has taken on them’.
The dramatic culmination to the row over Mr Zahawi will come as a huge blow to the PM, who is due to mark his first 100 days in No10 this week.
Mr Sunak is also continuing to face questions over the fate of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who is subject to an ongoing investigation into ‘bullying’ claims.
The PM pledged to lead a Government with ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability’ when he took office in October.
He has also been left embarrassed after telling MPs earlier this month that the row over Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs had been addressed ‘in full’ – before being forced to order Sir Laurie’s inquiry.
Sir Laurie’s findings left Mr Sunak with little choice but to fire Mr Zahawi from his Cabinet.
In the damning four-page report to the PM, the adviser revealed that Mr Zahawi initially failed to declare he was subject to an HMRC probe when he was appointed Chancellor by Boris Johnson in July last year.
This was a role that put him in charge of Britain’s tax system and, Sir Laurie said, could have led to claims of a possible conflict of interest.
Sir Laurie also lambasted Mr Zahawi for failing to disclose that the tax investigation had ended with him paying a penalty when he was later appointed to other Cabinet roles by Liz Truss, in September, and then Mr Sunak, in October.
In further criticism, Sir Laurie condemned Mr Zahawi for failing to correct his past denial that HMRC were investigating his tax affairs until this month.
In a letter to Mr Zahawi today, Mr Sunak wrote: ‘Following the completion of the independent adviser’s investigation – the findings of which he has shared with us both – it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code.
‘As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government.’
The PM added Mr Zahawi should be ‘extremely proud’ of his ‘wide-ranging achievements’ in Government over the past five years, including his spell as vaccines minister during the Covid pandemic.
‘Your role was critical to ensuring our country came through this crisis and saved many lives,’ Mr Sunak said.
‘And as the Conservative Party chairman, you have undertaken significant restructuring to Conservative Campaign Headquarters and readied us for important work in the coming months.’
Sir Laurie Magnus, the PM’s ethics adviser, concluded that Mr Zahawi showed ‘insufficient regard’ for ministerial rules
In a letter to the PM, Mr Zahawi pledged his support to Mr Sunak from the back benches of the House of Commons. But he also lashed out at media coverage of his tax scandal
In his reply to the PM, Mr Zahawi thanked Mr Sunak for his ‘kind words’ and said it had been the ‘privilege of my life to serve in successive governments and make what I believe to have been a tangible difference to the country I love’.
He also pledged his support to Mr Sunak from the Commons’ backbenches ‘in the coming years’ and in delivering on the PM’s priorities.
But Mr Zahawi also lashed out at media coverage of the row over his tax affairs as he made a reference to a recent alleged assault on former health secretary Matt Hancock.
‘I am concerned, however, about the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks,’ Mr Zahawi added.
‘In a week when a Member of Parliament was physically assaulted, I fail to see how one headline on this issue ‘The Noose Tightens’ reflects legitimate scrutiny of public officials.
‘I am sorry to my family for the toll this has taken on them.’
Asked why Mr Sunak hadn’t sacked Mr Zahawi sooner, when it was first revealed he paid a penalty to HMRC, Cabinet minister Michael Gove said that ‘due process matters’.
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘As ever it’s always important to make sure that all the facts are investigated fully and properly.
‘That is why Sir Laurie Magnus was given the opportunity to do so, why he’s concluded as he did, and why the Prime Minister has acted as he did.
‘As a general rule I think it is important when allegations are raised that they are investigated promptly.
‘But also we shouldn’t rush to judgment before there’s been that investigation.
‘And again the specific issues of an individual’s tax affairs are ones that require, in circumstances like this, a cool forensic analysis, and that is what Sir Laurie provided.’
Mr Gove was also pressed on whether the PM should have carried out more checks before appointing Mr Zahawi as Tory chairman in October.
‘To the best of my knowledge, I’m absolutely sure, that there was no alert that was given to either Rishi or indeed to Liz Truss,’ he replied.
‘So, again, Westminster will always have rumours, speculation, speculative reporting.’
Mr Gove later insisted that Mr Zahawi should not resign as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.
‘I don’t think Nadhim should resign as an MP, absolutely not,’ he told Times Radio.
Mr Portillo later told GB News that Mr Zahawi’s departure was a ‘terrific blow’ for the Govermment and Mr Sunak.
He said: ‘I think Nadhim did distinguished work, for example, during the vaccinations campaign.
‘But people hate the idea of a senior minister who is filthy rich, not paying the taxes up front. This is extremely toxic with the public.
‘The second thing about this is that obviously Rishi has been accused by some people of pursuing natural justice too far, and that he wanted to go through all the proper processes. In a way this is very commendable.
‘But this thing has been in the headlines now for days and days and days and it’s been doing terrible damage to the Government. And to him and to the party.
‘I think he did have an opportunity to get rid of him earlier. So I think the PM will face some criticism for having taken so long it’s been fortunate
‘It pains me to say this, but I think on the whole it makes Rishi look weak. I think he must have been kicking himself all week that he decided to refer this to an investigation rather than going with a decision straight away.’
Responding to Mr Zahawi’s sacking this morning, Ms Rayner – Labour’s deputy leader – said: ‘This hopelessly weak Prime Minister has been dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago.
‘Rishi Sunak shouldn’t have needed an ethics adviser to tell him that Nadhim Zahawi’s position was untenable, but instead he continued to prop up the man he appointed to Cabinet.
‘He must now come clean on the advice he was given about that appointment in the first place and why he apparently ignored the warnings.
‘The Conservatives have neither the interest nor the ability to clean up politics.’
Senior Labour MP Chris Bryant, the chair of the Commons’ Standards Committee, called for Mr Zahawi to resign as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.
He told LBC Radio: ‘He probably should. I think voters will find it very hard to understand why he’s sticking around.’
The Liberal Democrats demanded a ‘proper independent inquiry’ into the matter and also called on Mr Zahawi to quit Parliament entirely.
‘Rishi Sunak has finally acted after spending days defending the indefensible on Nadhim Zahawi,’ the party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper said.
‘It should never have taken him this long to act.
‘Sunak’s first 100 days in office have been tarnished by endless Conservative sleaze and scandals.
‘Serious questions remain about what Sunak knew about Zahawi’s tax affairs when he appointed him.
‘We need a proper independent inquiry to establish the facts and hold the PM to account.
‘Given this was a serious breach of the ministerial code, Nadhim 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.’
From arriving in Britain as a Kurdish refugee to becoming Chancellor (via making a ‘f*** load of money’ as a ‘Del Boy’ businessman): The rise – and now political fall – of Nadhim Zahawi
By Martin Robinson, chief reporter, and Greg Heffer, political correspondent
Nadhim Zahawi’s political rise was extraordinary given he arrived in Britain, aged nine, in the 1970s as a Kurdish refugee from Iraq fleeing Saddam Hussein.
He went on to make a fortune founding polling firm YouGov and building a £100million property portfolio.
The 55-year-old Tory MP has previously been compared to Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses and a contestant trying to impress Lord Sugar on The Apprentice.
Friends have said that Mr Zahawi’s ‘real blood and passion was politics’ – but before being elected as MP for Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2010 he dedicated himself to making a ‘f**k load of money’.
Another friend in Parliament said: ‘He’s a sort of lovable wheeler-dealer type’, adding there is ‘a bit of Del Boy about him’.
Nadhim Zahawi is married to wife Lana (pictured in June 2021) and they have three children
A younger Mr Zahawi is pictured in his flat in Brompton, West London, with designer Broosk Saib in a flat he bought from Dutch supermodel Karen Mulder
But it was not always plain sailing for the married father-of-three in his business career.
An early venture as a young entrepreneur – selling Teletubbies clothing at the height of the show’s fame – went bust and backers, including former Tory grandee Jeffrey Archer, lost their money.
But he would become one of the richest politicians in the House of Commons after he helped found YouGov with friend Stephan Shakespeare, having studied chemical engineering at University College London.
In 2002 he took a gamble on ITV’s Pop Idol – the biggest show on TV at the time – that would make him even more money in a story friends use to explain his mindset in business and now politics.
Before the final between Will Young and Gareth Gates, the pundits were convinced that it would be Gates that would romp home.
But YouGov polling said otherwise, and he put thousands of pounds on Will Young to win, which he did, allowing the Chancellor to beat the bookies and pundits and makes a fortune.
Former YouGov head of political research Joe Twyman told Politico: ‘It tells you a lot about him. He really believed what we were doing was right, he was willing to take the risk, he enjoyed the showmanship and the fun of it all — but also he wanted to make f*** load of money.’
Not only did Mr Zahawi win the bet, he also used it to push YouGov’s credibility and three years later he is said to have made £5.7million when it floated.
The success of the UK’s Covid jabs rollout, which Mr Zahawi oversaw as vaccines minister, later led to Mr Zahawi’s promotion to the Cabinet
Former YouGov president Peter Kellner (right) has said Mr Zahawi would have made a ‘perfect’ contestant for TV game show The Apprentice
Mr Zahawi has been described in the past as a calculated risk-taker.
‘He isn’t reckless. He makes sure the odds are in his favour before he makes a bet’, the insider said.
Former YouGov president Peter Kellner has said he would have made a ‘perfect’ contestant for TV game show The Apprentice, if the show starring Lord Sugar had existed in the 1980s and 1990s.
‘He was very sharp and shrewd in business terms’, he said.
He added it was no surprise Mr Zahawi was a success as vaccines minister during the Covid pandemic because ‘in a sense, the vaccine job is like an Alan Sugar challenge writ very large’.
Mr Zahawi was privately-educated at King’s College School in West London and University College London where he studied chemical engineering.
He became MP for Stratford-on-Avon in 2010 – the first Kurdish Iraqi to be elected to Parliament.
His first Government role was as children’s minister from January 2018 to July 2019, during which time he attended the controversial Presidents Club Ball.
He was said to have been given a dressing down by the chief whip after complaints of sexism and harassment at the all-male gathering for the business elite.
He was appointed business and industry minister in Boris Johnson’s Government, before taking on the role of vaccines minister in November 2020.
The success of the UK’s Covid jabs rollout saw Mr Zahawi promoted to the Cabinet as Education Secretary in September 2021, when he replaced the embattled Sir Gavin Williamson.
After Rishi Sunak’s dramatic resignation as Mr Johnson’s Chancellor in July last year, Mr Zahawi stepped in as Treasury chief.
It was, ultimately, this appointment that led to his downfall.
Mr Zahawi in 2004 after being knocked off his moped on Albert Embankment – before the moped was given a parking ticket
Mr Zahawi kisses Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie at the 2019 Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in September 2019
Mr Zahawi walks through the Birmingham Conference Centre with then prime minister David Cameron in 2010
Father-of-three Mr Zahawi pictured in October 1996 when he was a businessman
Although he ended up only being Chancellor for two months, until Liz Truss replaced Mr Johnson as PM, his move to No11 coincided with scrutiny of his tax affairs.
An investigation by Mr Sunak’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, has now found Mr Zahawi made no reference to an HMRC investgation into him when he took over as Treasury chief.
Sir Laurie also criticised Mr Zahawi for failing to make proper disclosure of his tax dispute – or the fact he paid a penalty to HMRC – when he was subsequently appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Ms Truss in September, or Tory chairman by Mr Sunak in October.
Prior to his ministerial career, during the MPs expenses scandal, Mr Zahawi was forced to apologise for claiming taxpayers’ money to heat his stables on his Warwickshire estate.
He has also previously faced scrutiny over his second jobs, before entering Government.
He was appointed chief strategy officer at Gulf Keystone Petroleum in 2015 and reported outside earnings which were the equivalent of an annual salary of £765,000.
He received a salary of £20,125 a month, for working between eight and 21 hours per week.
In addition to that, he received a string of bonuses between January and June 2016, adding up to £78,246.38, plus a payment of £52,325 made in September 2015 for 210 hours work, backdated to July last year.
Previously, Zahawi acted as an adviser to Afren, another oil company that went under in 2015.