Is Rishi Sunak changing his tune on Nadhim Zahawi?

A week is a long time in politics. Last Wednesday, Rishi Sunak stood at the despatch box and defended Nadhim Zahawi over his tax affairs. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Sunak said that when it came to reports that Zahawi had to pay millions to Revenue and Customs to settle a tax dispute, his party chairman had ‘already addressed this matter in full’.

Only now Zahawi is not only facing an investigation by the Prime Minister’s new independent ethics adviser, but the line coming from No. 10 also appears to be changing. Yesterday at a lobby briefing, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson appeared to suggest that Sunak was not aware when he appointed Zahawi as chairman that he had agreed to pay an alleged £1 million penalty to the taxman.

Speaking on this morning’s ministerial media round, Chris Philp – the minister for police, crime and fire – appeared to distance Sunak further from Zahawi. When asked whether the Prime Minister knew about the investigation into Zahawi when he appointed him as chairman, Philp replied:

‘My understanding is that when the prime minister appointed Nadhim Zahawi, his understanding was there were no outstanding tax issues at that time. And my understanding is that he wasn’t aware of the discussions that had taken place previously.

Clearly, over the weekend, further things were disclosed publicly, which has led the Prime Minister to appoint the independent ethics adviser to investigate. And that is exactly the right thing to do. It shows that the Prime Minister is acting exactly as he said he would to maintain ethics and standards in public life.’

It adds to the idea that since he defended Zahawi, new facts have emerged. When Sunak moved to appoint Zahawi, Downing Street was told there were no outstanding issues (though there is still a question mark over whether Sunak should have delved deeper, given the reports). That no longer seems to be Sunak’s view. It means that despite the positive spin from Zahawi’s supporters that he is confident he will remain in post, his future hangs in the balance.