Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Johnson agrees to Sunak's investigation request

Johnson agrees to Sunak's investigation request

British prime minister Boris Johnson has agreed to a request from his chancellor Rishi Sunak for a review to determine whether he had stuck to the rules on ministerial declarations following criticism over Sunak's family financial arrangements.

Sunak said on Sunday he had written to the prime minister asking him to refer his ministerial declarations to Christopher Geidt, the independent adviser on ministers' interests.


"The prime minister has agreed to the request from the chancellor for Lord Geidt to undertake this work," a spokeswoman for Johnson said on Monday, adding that the prime minister had full confidence in his finance minister.

"The prime minister is confident that all the appropriate declarations were followed."

Sunak request came after revelations about his family's financial affairs stoked political controversy.

It follows a leak last week revealing that his wealthy Indian wife has benefited from "non-domicile" tax status in the UK, shielding her overseas income from taxes at a time when they are rising for most Britons.

After initially claiming his spouse Akshata Murty -- whose father co-founded the Indian IT behemoth Infosys -- was the victim of a smear campaign, the couple U-turned last Friday and vowed she would now pay British taxes on all her global income.

But it has failed to quell accusations of hypocrisy for raising taxes on Britons in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, while his own family has seen millions of pounds in Infosys dividends shielded from his own ministry.

Sunak is believed to be Britain's richest member of parliament.

He has also faced criticism for a lack of transparency, after admitting to holding a "Green Card" for US permanent residents until last year.

Possession of the card would enable him to keep the United States as his long-term home and pay US taxes, despite serving as Britain's second-most powerful politician with designs on Johnson's job.

Meanwhile, other claims have also emerged in recent days, including that he was listed as the beneficiary of offshore trusts set up in so-called tax havens to help manage his wife's business affairs.

In his letter to Johnson asking for Geidt's review, Sunak insisted he had acted appropriately at all times but his "overriding concern" was that the public should have confidence in the answers.

"I am confident that such a review of my declarations will find all relevant information was appropriately declared," he added.

However, the Labour party has said his situation raised potential conflicts of interest, and its deputy leader Angela Rayner has also written to both Johnson and Geidt requesting answers.

"A fish rots from the head. It is the prime minister's responsibility to bring this debacle to a close by ensuring that standards are upheld across his cabinet," she said.

Once a leading contender to succeed Johnson as the British leader struggled with his own series of scandals, Sunak has seen his popularity plummet in recent weeks amid the cost-of-living crisis and the revelations.

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less