If you want to know Nadhim Zahawi’s true character look no further than his snivelling and graceless resignation letter.
You can take your pick of which aspects of this parting shot were the most offensive.
For some people it will be the complete absence of any apology or contrition for being a serial breaker of ministerial rules.
Others will have noted his snide comments about the press who had the temerity to raise questions about his murky tax affairs.
This is the defence used by Scooby Doo villains when they complain they would have got away it had it not been for those meddling kids.
The former Cabinet minister gives the impression he is not sorry for his conduct, he’s only sorry his conduct was exposed by the media.
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UKGOV)
But the line which really sticks in the craw is Zahawi’s effusive praise for the “country I love.”
In almost every media appearance Conservative ministers pose next to the Union flag to signal they are the true patriots.
But real patriots do not set up offshore accounts in tax havens to stash their riches.
Real patriots seek to pay their taxes in full and on time.
And real patriots act with honour when they have broken the ministerial code by resigning with good grace.
Zahawi has done us a favour by finally revealing the whole charade of the Tories’ plastic patriotism.