30 January 2023 , 15:36
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been branded ‘weak’ over his feeble handling of the Nadhim Zahawi scandal - and we want to know what you think.
The PM finally sacked the Conservative party chair Nadhim Zahawi yesterday after he was found to have breached the ministerial code by failing to declare the HMRC investigation into his tax affairs.
His departure comes after a damaging few weeks for Sunak, who vowed “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” of his government upon entering No 10.
But Sunak’s judgement has come under question by some Tory MPs, who say he should have sacked Mr Zahawi sooner and warned that he faces being dragged down by a string of scandals.
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One Tory MP said: “We picked Rishi as he was supposed to be the new broom to clean up Boris’s mess, but it’s been worse. You cannot move for dirt.”
Michael Portillo insisted the PM should have sacked Zahawi as soon as it became clear he was not being honest, instead of ordering a probe by ethics chief Sir Laurie Magnus.
The Tory heavyweight said: “It pains me to say this, but I think on the whole it makes Rishi look weak. He must have been kicking himself that he decided to refer this to an investigation rather than going with a decision straight away.”
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the “hopelessly weak PM has been dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago”.
The PM told Mr Zahawi he was fired in a letter after Sir Laurie’s probe.
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