Risi Sunak sent a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for an investigation into his finances a few days after The Independent revealed that his millionaire wife, Aksata Merti, was saving taxes because of her “homelessness” status. The troubled multimillionaire chancellor has called for his statements to be submitted to Lord Christopher Geidt, the Independent Adviser on the Ministers’ Interests, amid growing pressure on his tax affairs. Labor Vice President Angela Rayner claims that Rishi Sunak has compiled a “list of possible breaches of the Ministerial Code”. Meanwhile, the shadow Justice Minister said that there is a “complete list of areas where the chancellor seems to have failed to say things he should have said”. Asked if he thought Risi Sunak could have violated the ministerial code, Steve Reed told BBC Radio 4 today: “Absolutely. “But it is not an isolated incident.” In a statement posted on Twitter, Mr Sunak said: “I have always followed the rules and I hope such a review will provide further clarity.”
Basic points
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“Rishi Sunak referred to independent regulator – but has the damage been done?”
“It may seem strange for Rishi Sunak to refer to Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial conduct,” writes Sean O’Grady. “To be honest, becoming an independent regulator is what usually happens when you are a proponent, you will collapse anyway and so you can also refer to yourself before someone else does it for you. “Not that Rishi Sunak or his wife, Akshata Murty, have necessarily done something wrong. These things just work, in politics and beyond. “But something different could happen here.” You can read the whole piece below. Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 11:05 1649670353
Watch: Eustice avoids questioning status of non-home ministers
Environment Secretary George Eustice avoids questioning status of away ministers Laurie Churchman April 11, 2022 10:45 AM 1649669129
Sunak visits Treasury base in Durham County
Rishi Sunak visited the Treasury Department base in Darlington, near Middlesbrough, on Monday in a bid to show that he is continuing his work despite the storm over his family’s financial arrangements. The chancellor visited the Darlington University of Economics campus after requesting an inquiry into his own conduct from Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, Lord Gade. Laurie Churchman April 11, 2022 10:25 AM 1649667454
Rishi Sunak was “very honest” about his financial affairs, Eustice insists
The afflicted Rishi Sunak “paid all his taxes” and was very honest about his financial arrangements, a cabinet colleague insisted after the Chancellor called for an inquiry into his own actions. Mr. Sunak referred to Boris Johnson, an independent adviser on ministerial interests, as he tried to block questions about his family finances. In a letter to the prime minister, Mr Sunak asked Lord Geidt to reconsider all his expressions of interest since he became minister in 2018, to ensure they were properly stated. You can read the whole story below. Laurie Churchman April 11, 2022 9:57 AM 1649665972
Eustice defends billionaire Sunak
Environment Minister George Eustice defended multimillionaire Chancellor Rishi Sunak, saying: “I do not think it is right to have a rule that says you are too rich to be able to play a role.” He told BBC Radio 4 today: “It usually happens that if you make a decision that has a direct impact on your family members or even sometimes on your own constituency, there is a contract that a different minister would take that person. decision. “But it does not prevent you from making more general policy decisions in the round, so it is a complex area, but it is something that the Cabinet will obviously consider now, but Rishi Sunak was very clear that he has stated everything that needed to be done. was declared at the appropriate time “. Asked if Mr Sunak was “too rich” to become chancellor or possible party leader, Eustice said: “I do not think it is right to have a rule that says you are too rich to be able to play a role. . What matters is the knowledge, the technical specialization that you have “. He added: “You can not walk a mile in everyone’s shoes, we all have different perspectives, different experiences in life and for any MP, let alone a minister, the most important thing is the ability to empathize with (people) who can they had experiences and challenges in their lives that you personally have not experienced “. Laurie Churchman April 11, 2022 9:32 AM 1649664732
“I’m not the accountant for cabinet colleagues”: Eustice avoids questioning ministerial status
Environment Secretary George Eustice said he was not “the accountant for cabinet colleagues”, as he asked if fellow ministers had ever been non-resident. Multimillionaire Chancellor Rishi Sunak faced days of scrutiny after The Independent revealed that Akshata Murty’s wife – whose father is one of India’s richest men – was claiming homelessness. Laurie Churchman April 11, 2022 9:12 AM 1649663592
Senior Tories minister: “I do not know anyone who may or may not have had a homeless status” in the cabinet
Environment Secretary George Eustice says he does not expect other cabinet colleagues to present their tax status. “I am not the accountant of my fellow ministers in the cabinet,” he told Sky News. “I do not know anyone who may or may not have had property outside the home.” “I can tell you that I have never had and would never seek to have.” He added: “I judge fellow ministers based on their performance in the role and I think Rishi Sunak has played very well as Chancellor of the Exchequer (during) some extremely difficult times, and he has now referred to Lord Geidt, the the top ministerial adviser (ministerial) (standards) to look into these issues and I really am not going to be tempted to comment more than I have done on his wife’s tax affairs “. Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 08:53 1649662392
Senior Tory minister: Risi Sunak “said everything that should have been said”
The chancellor was “very honest about his own arrangements at every stage,” said Environment Secretary George Eustice. Asked if Rishi Sunak was referring to Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, Mr Eustice told Sky News: “Rishi Sunak and his wife have spoken for themselves. I am not his accountant, I am obviously not responsible for his tax affairs or those of his wife. “She testified at the weekend, she has made it clear that although she has done nothing wrong, she is an Indian citizen and grew up and was born in India, she has some income from it, but she is changing her tax arrangements. that he would pay tax on this income here in the UK. “Risi himself, there have been some speculations about this, he wrote to the prime minister and asked the ministerial (model) adviser to examine this case. It is very clear that he has stated everything that should have been stated at the right time and here is a process that you have as a minister. “You express all your interests to the permanent secretary of your department and the cabinet office decides which pieces should be made public, which points they should know, there is a duty of honesty in both directions and Risi is very clear that he is very honest about its own settings at each stage “. Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 08:33 1649661252
“It is not an isolated incident”: the shadow Justice Minister says that Sunak may have violated the ministerial code
Asked if he believed Risi Sunak had violated the ministerial code, Steve Reed told BBC Radio 4 Today: “Absolutely. “But it is not an isolated incident, there are other failures here.” The shadow justice minister added: “He also failed to declare his wife 6 690 million’s stake in Infosys, an IT company based in India, which, as far as we could tell, had 15 different – in meetings with senior ministers. , including the Prime Minister, and has been awarded multi-million pound government contracts. “Now, if the chancellor’s household benefits from contracts like this, it should have stated it in the register of interests, but it did not. “There is a whole list of areas where the chancellor seems to have failed to say things he should have said.” Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 08:14 1649660112
Rayner’s letter was “trigger” for Sunak calling for a review of ministerial interests
Shadow Justice Minister Steve Reed says a letter from Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner to the prime minister detailing a list of concerns appears to have prompted Chancellor Rishi Sunak to refer to independent ministerial adviser Boris Johnson for care. Mr Reed told BBC Radio 4 today: “What really concerns me is that there is a growing sense of legitimacy across the top of the government right now. “We saw it at the ‘partygate’ where the government was breaking the laws that everyone else was waiting to follow, grabbing the rules after Owen Patterson and now with Rishi Sunak. “Some of the concerns include the Chancellor’s failure to declare his wife’s homeless status on his register of interests and why this matters because the law on finance, which just passed Parliament this year, includes changes that benefit wealthy non- household. “Now with the ministerial code, ministers must not make decisions, they must resign.”
