Nadhim Zahawi, Day Five – actually, rather longer. But I last wrote about his situation on Monday, saying that Rishi Sunak should either, in effect, back him or sack him. The Prime Minister asked his ethics adviser to report.
Whatever the merits of this decision were, it hasn’t kicked the matter into touch – an objective of all such gambits. The man tasked with leading the Conservatives’ local election campaign can only say when asked about his tax affairs not “I’ve been cleared’ but “I’m under investigation”.
He therefore can’t be let out into the studios or onto the airwaves at all. This is politically unsustainable for the Government. Meanwhile, my media colleagues will find plenty of ways to “keep the story going” – that’s to say, project new allegations.
Sunak was between a rock and a hard place. The rock was the consequence of sacking a popular Minister (strikingly few Conservative MPs have publicly called on Zahawi to go) from a position of political weakness – and encouraging the media to pick off Dominic Raab, Suella Braverman or whoever is next in our sights. The hard place needs no further description.
The Prime Minister is spending political capital daily while Laurie Magnus builds up his investigation. It isn’t in anyone’s interest for the matter to drag on for a moment longer than is necessary (other than Keir Starmer’s). A decision is required urgently.