Wind of Change in the British government
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked the minister without portfolio and Conservative Party leader Nadhim Zahawi from government on Sunday after an independent investigation found a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. “Following the conclusion of an investigation by the independent counsel – whose findings he has shared with us – it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code,” Sunak wrote in a letter to Zahawi, made public by Downing Street. “As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty’s Government,” added the British Prime Minister. The British Prime Minister has ordered an investigation into Zahawi by Sir Laurie Magnus, his independent adviser on ministerial interests, to decide whether the chairman of his party breached the Ministerial Code in relation to the multi-million pound payment sterling to settle a dispute with the tax authorities.
By sacking Nadhim Zahawi instead of asking him to resign, Rishi Sunak is trying to assert his authority after pledging “integrity, professionalism and accountability” when he came to Downing Street. Zahawi settled the issue with the taxman last year by paying a penalty sum during his brief stint at the Treasury in former prime minister Boris Johnson’s government. He then became, after Sunak’s arrival in Downing Street at the end of October, chairman of the Conservative party and a minister without portfolio in the government. Ethics advisor Laurie Magnus concluded that Nadhim Zahawi should have made public the fiscal investigation he was targeted by and should have updated the wealth declaration once the dispute over the tax was resolved. After 13 years in power, the Conservatives’ reputation has suffered in recent years due to conflict-of-interest affairs, fueling allegations of corruption from the Labor opposition, which leads the polls by a margin. It remains to be seen if the British conservatives will regain the trust of the population and this will be verified in the parliamentary elections that will take place in the fall of 2024.
By Ovidiu Stanica
