Youth, Indian origin and responsible image of Rishi Sunakafter the debacle of its predecessor on Downing Street, Boris Johnson Y Liz Truss, resulting in a new initial impression. But the Conservative Party has been in power for more than a decade and Sunak has become part of the British government in recent years. The skeletons that had gathered in the cupboard began to sprinkle the prime minister. In the last few hours, two official investigations have been launched into problems with the Ministry of Finance of former Economy Minister and current Conservative Party president, Nadhim Zahawi, and into the involvement of the new BBC president, Richard Sharp, in assisting Johnson. , exactly who appointed him to that position, for a personal loan of over 900,000 euros that allowed him to get out of trouble.

“Integrity and accountability are aspects that I think are very important, and these issues raise a number of questions that need to be answered,” Sunak said this Monday, during a visit to a hospital in Northamptonshire, before announcing he had ordered an investigation. into an arrangement with Zahawi’s Department of Finance. “I have asked our independent advisors [el cargo se define oficialmente como Asesor Independiente sobre los Intereses de los Ministros] to get to the bottom of the matter, to fully investigate this case and to establish all the facts, to be able to explain to me if Zahawi adheres to what is stipulated in the Ministerial Code”, Sunak announced.

The Ministerial Code is a set of ethical and non-compliance or conflict of interest rules that each member of the UK Government must comply with or avoid. The text has the prime minister’s approval and endorsement – the code currently published under Johnson – and parliament’s custom dictates that any breach of its content must lead to resignation, although the Conservatives have interpreted the rule more laxly in recent years.

The independent advisory figure was established in 2006, during Tony Blair’s Labor mandate. It has the capacity to investigate, and proposes an inquiry, but must first obtain permission from the Prime Minister. During more than three years of the Johnson Administration, two advisors resigned after being neglected. Alex Allan leaves after Downing Street kept in its drawer the conclusion that the then Minister of Home Affairs, Priti Patel, has been harassing members of his department at work. Christopher Geid resigned after verifying that Johnson, whom he initially released, he had misled her about the money he and his wife spent decorating their official apartment.

Zahawi’s fiscal transactions

A new independent adviser, Laurie Magnus, must investigate the agreement Zahawi, 55, and Economy Minister Johnson reached with the Treasury after selling the survey company he co-founded in 2000, and which is currently one of the largest. relevant in the UK: YouGov. Part of the shares are in the name of Zahawi’s father, and are owned by a company registered in Gibraltar under the name Balshore Investments. “After the negotiation process with HMRC [His Majesty Revenues and Customs, la Hacienda británica], they accepted that my father was entitled to the founder’s share of YouGov, but they disagreed with how it would be divided up. The final conclusion is negligence, and not something intentional,” explained Zahawi in a previous statement. When immediately after the newspaper Guardian He pointed out that, of the nearly five million pounds (about 5.6 million euros) that the current president of the Conservative Party has paid to the Treasury, 30% were as penalties, Zahawi neither wanted to confirm nor deny this detail.

The opposition Labor party is demanding the immediate dismissal of the politician, who has announced his intention not to speak further on the matter until investigations are complete, and that he has no intention of resigning. Sunak has for now expressed confidence in Zahawi to continue leading the political formation, to a ministerial-level position (hence the investigation by independent advisers).

Suspicion on the BBC

Sunak will also have to answer another alleged scandal that has nothing to do with him directly but calls into question the appointment policies pursued by conservatives in recent years. Richard Sharp, a 66-year-old former investment banker and new chairman of the BBC—bête noire of many Conservatives, who accuse public companies of being leftist and anti-Brexit bias—, has requested the entity’s board of directors to investigate whether there has been a conflict of interest during its public contract as chair of this institution. Sunday time revealed on Sunday that Sharp had been key in securing a guarantor for Johnson for a loan of more than 900,000 euros by the end of 2020. The then prime minister was burdened by financial responsibilities stemming from his divorce from Marina Wheeler, whom he was married to for 25 years, as well as the money he had been forced to pay to decorate his Downing Street apartment.

Sharp, a friend of Johnson and Sunak himself, contacted the then Prime Minister’s Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case [el puesto que equivale al de jefe máximo del cuerpo de altos funcionarios], with Sam Blyth, a Canadian businessman whom he describes as an old friend. In the end, it was Blyth who backed the loan. “Casing and I agreed that I would stay out of this matter to avoid a conflict of interest,” Sharp explained to the BBC himself.

Both Sunak and Johnson themselves defended their friend and the transparency and correctness of the selection process. “Sharp doesn’t know about my personal finances, and this is all bullshit,” said former Prime Minister Johnson.

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