Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Rishi Sunak under new attack over Green Card

Rishi Sunak under new attack over Green Card

BRITAIN's embattled finance minister Rishi Sunak stood accused of political hypocrisy as new questions emerged over offshore tax havens reportedly held by his Indian wife.

Sunak was also criticised for a lack of transparency, after he admitted to holding a "Green Card" for US permanent residents until last year.


Sunak's wealthy wife Akshata Murty said she would start paying UK tax on "all worldwide income", in a bid to defuse a controversy that has further imperilled his waning political fortunes.

But Labour frontbench MP Louise Haigh told BBC radio that Sunak had "come out on a number of occasions to try and muddy the waters" around his family's tax affairs.

She conceded that the "non-domicile" status enjoyed by Murty -- shielding the overseas income from her family's company Infosys against UK taxes -- was legal.

But Haigh queried "whether it was right that the chancellor of the exchequer, whilst piling on 15 separate tax rises to the British public, was benefiting from a tax scheme that allowed his household to pay significantly less to the tune of potentially tens of millions of pounds."

The Independent newspaper reported that Sunak was listed as the beneficiary of trusts set up in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands to help manage his wife's tax and business affairs.

Sunak was listed in 2020, after he became chancellor and after a prior stint as chief secretary to the Treasury, the newspaper said.

"No-one in Akshata's family is aware of this alleged trust," a spokeswoman close to the Sunak family said in response.

As chancellor, Sunak oversaw a huge programme of government spending during the coronavirus pandemic, but is now tightening the belt just as Britons face the worst cost-of-living crisis in generations.

GettyImages 169757101 Founding member of Infosys, NR Narayana Murthy. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images)

Once a leading contender to succeed prime minister Boris Johnson, Sunak has seen his popularity plummet in recent weeks as a result, and has accused critics of mounting a "smear" campaign against his wife.

Allies of the finance minister have told newspapers that Johnson's office is waging a political hit job.

They said the prime minister believed Sunak had not backed him strongly enough during an ongoing scandal into Downing Street lockdown parties.

Johnson on Friday (8) denied knowledge of any briefing operation against Sunak, and told reporters that his chancellor was doing an "absolutely outstanding job".

The White House meanwhile declined to comment about Sunak's Green Card, which the minister said he only gave up ahead of his first visit to the US as chancellor in October last year.

Under US law, possession of the card meant that Sunak intended to live in America and pay US taxes, despite serving as Britain's second-most powerful politician.

Sunak and Murty met as students in the US and they married in 2009. She is the daughter of Indian billionaire N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder of the IT giant Infosys.

(AFP)

More For You

Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

Keir Starmer speaks to members of the media during a visit to RAF Valley, on Anglesey in north-west Wales, on June 27, 2025. PAUL CURRIE/Pool via REUTERS

Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organisers said on Sunday (29) they were appalled by on-stage chanting against the Israeli military during a performance at the festival by Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

During their show on Saturday (28), the duo chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in reference to the Israel Defense Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan floods

A flooded street near Station Road after heavy rainfall in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on June 27, 2025.

Getty

Pakistan reports 45 deaths from flash floods and rain in monsoon onset

AT LEAST 45 people have died in Pakistan over the past few days due to flash flooding and heavy rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon season, according to disaster management officials on Sunday.

The highest number of deaths was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. There, 21 people were killed, including 10 children.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Weather Alert: June Heatwave to Hit 34°C, Breaking Records

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record

iStock

UK set for one of the hottest June days with highs of 34°C

Key points

  • Temperatures may hit 34°C in Greater London and Bedfordshire
  • Amber alert in place across five regions due to health risks
  • Wimbledon’s opening day to be hottest on record
  • Risk of wildfires in London labelled “severe”
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland remain cooler

Hottest June day in years expected as second UK heatwave peaks

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record, with temperatures expected to reach 34°C on Monday (30 June). The ongoing heatwave, now in its fourth day, is most intense across the South and East of England, particularly in Greater London and Bedfordshire.

Although there is a small chance of temperatures hitting 35°C, they are unlikely to surpass the all-time June record of 35.6°C set in 1976.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Probing all angles in Air India crash, including sabotage: Minister

INDIA’s junior civil aviation minister said on Sunday that all possible angles, including sabotage, were being looked into as part of the investigation into the Air India crash.

All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground. However, a police source told AFP after the crash that the death toll on the ground was 38.

Keep ReadingShow less
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury

Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury

BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.

"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).

Keep ReadingShow less