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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has let Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi go over the "serious breach of the Ministerial Code" caused by Zahawi's tax-related hijinks.
"When I became prime minister last year, I pledged that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. That is why, following new information which came to light in recent days regarding your personal financial arrangements and declarations, I asked Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers' interests, to fully investigate this matter," Sunak wrote in a letter addressed to Zahawi published by the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday morning.
"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," Sunak added.
The prime minister suggested that Zahawi should be "extremely proud" of his "wide-ranging achievements in government," including his "successful oversight of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and deployment program," and readying the Conservative Party for its "important work" in his capacity as party chairman.
"It is also with pride that I, and previous prime ministers, have been able to draw upon the services of a Kurdish-born Iraqi refugee at the highest levels of the UK government. That is something which people up and down this country have rightly valued," the prime minister wrote, referring to Zahawi's roots.
Zahawi, 55, immigrated to Britain with his parents from Iraq in the late 1970s. The son of an investment banker, Zahawi made a name for himself in the world of business and politics, entering Parliament as a Tory in 2010 and reelected in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Quickly ascending through the ranks, Zahawi served as secretary of state for education, chancellor of the Exchequer, minister for equalities, minister for intergovernmental relations, and finally, as chairman of the Conservative Party without portfolio in the past couple of tumultuous years in British politics. At one point, Zahawi put his name on the ballot to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson after the latter's resignation in scandal last July. After being eliminated, Zahawi dutifully supported both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
Sunak ordered a probe into Zahawi after it emerged last week that he was forced to fork over nearly five million pounds to the tax office in 2022, including a 30 percent fine for late payment, following a dispute over the transfer of his 42.5 percent share in major UK pollster YouGov, which Zahawi had co-founded in 2000, to an offshore trust controlled by his mom and dad.
Zahawi, Sunak, and the Tory government were dragged through the mud by the opposition over the tax drama, with lawmakers accusing them of looking out for their own financial and political interests instead of paying attention to the needs of ordinary Britons amid the growing cost of living crisis.