In Britain, the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cannot escape the negative headlines. Sunak today sacked the secretary general of his Conservative party, Nadhim Zahawi, over a tax scandal and also ousted him from the cabinet, PA news agency reported, citing the letter of resignation.
The head of government, who has been in office for less than 100 days, had already ordered an independent investigation into the allegations. Zahawi once sat in the cabinet as a minister with no specific area of responsibility.
Offshore company in focus
The former finance minister has been criticized for days because of his personal finances. According to media reports, the 55-year-old paid the national tax authority a seven-figure sum to resolve a dispute over his tax affairs.
Zahawi also admitted as much, but without naming a specific amount. The former minister was accused of using an offshore company in Gibraltar as part of his role as a shareholder in research firm YouGov, which he co-founded.
“Grave Pause”
In his letter to Zahawi, Sunak wrote that he took over as prime minister to lead a government that upholds integrity, professionalism and accountability at all levels. The investigation revealed that there had been a “serious breach of ministerial rules”.
He is not the first minister to leave office in the first 100 days of the Sunak government: former minister of state Gavin Williamson had to resign over allegations of bullying.