Rishi Sunak has just announced he’s sacked Nadhim Zahawi after his independent advisor on ministerial standards found a “serious breach of the Ministerial Code”. No. 10 just published the letter from Sunak to Zahawi informing him of his dismissal.

“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 government has also published Sir Laurie Magnus’s investigation in full. Some of the key findings:

1. Zahawi claimed that he believed initial discussions between him and HMRC in April 2021 were merely inquiries rather than a formal investigation. Magnus considers that “an individual subject to the HMRC process faced by Mr Zahawi should have understood at the outset that they were under investigation by HMRC”
2. Magnus would have expected Zahawi to report the investigation in his declaration of interests, something Zahawi didn’t do after being appointed Chancellor. Breaking paragraph 7.3 of the Ministerial Code.
3. Magnus finds Zahawi failed to disclose this information during the formation of both Liz Truss’s and Rishi Sunak’s governments. “Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister.”
4. Magnus concludes Zahawi also broke section 1.3(d) of the Ministerial Code with some of his public statements. The duty to “be as open as possible with Parliament and the public”

He concludes:

“I consider that Mr Zahawi, in holding the high privilege of being a Minister of the Crown, has shown insufficient regard for the General Principles of the Ministerial Code and the requirements in particular, under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour. I want to commend Mr Zahawi for his willingness to assist with my inquiry. I also fully appreciate the pressures faced by Ministers as they address the complex issues of government and the difficulties they encounter in balancing the demands of their personal lives and their ministerial responsibilities. These factors, however, cannot mitigate my overall judgement that Mr Zahawi’s conduct as a Minister has fallen below the high standards that, as Prime Minister, you rightly expect from those who serve in your government.”

C’est fini…

Read Magnus’s findings in full below:

Letter From Sir Laurie Magnus to the Prime Minister, 29 January 2023 by Christian on Scribd