Fresh revelations about Raab and Zahawi make a bad week worse for Sunak

Rishi Sunak’s week went from bad to worse yesterday evening when The Guardian reported that his right hand man Dominic Raab is facing a far more extensive bullying investigation than initially thought. According to the paper, at least 24 civil servants are involved in formal complaints against the deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary. Downing Street confirmed in December that Raab was facing eight formal complaints of alleged bullying. Sources told The Guardian that all but two of these complaints involve multiple accusers, with the total number of complainants potentially more than 30. Labour’s reaction to the reports unsurprisingly focused on the wider implications for Sunak’s government. Angela Rayner said the “shocking claims” raise “yet more questions about the Prime Minister’s judgement”, again highlighting Sunak’s pledge to lead a government of integrity. “The cabinet he appointed is awash with sleaze and scandal, but the Prime Minister is too weak to do anything about it,” the deputy Labour leader added.

Sunak was forced into an embarrassing about-turn during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday when quizzed by Keir Starmer about Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs. During the previous week’s session, the Prime Minister claimed that the Tory Party chair had already addressed the matter “in full” and that there was “nothing more” he could add. It has since emerged that Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC over unpaid tax while he was serving as Chancellor. Sunak announced on Monday that he has instructed his new ethics adviser to investigate Zahawi’s tax settlement with HMRC. The Prime Minister told MPs yesterday: “Since I commented on this matter last week, more information has come forward, which is why I have asked the independent adviser to look into the matter.”

The Prime Minister faced considerable scrutiny over what he knew when about the bullying allegations against Gavin Williamson, which led to the cabinet minister’s resignation in November. Sunak initially told MPs that he had not known about any of the “specific concerns” related to Williamson’s conduct. But it was subsequently reported that the Prime Minister was made aware that there was a complaint against Williamson related to “bullying and misogyny” and received advice not to appoint him to cabinet “until the complaint was withdrawn or resolved”. Sunak’s account of Zahawi’s case is facing similar scrutiny, with sources telling The Guardian that he was made aware in June last year that Zahawi’s tax affairs were under investigation – a claim that No 10 has described as “categorically not true”. Zahawi’s position may be the most directly at risk, but it is clear that the longer this case rolls on, the more damage it will cause to Sunak’s own reputation and that of the Conservative Party generally. No wonder Sunak is reportedly “livid” that Zahawi initially failed to reveal the full details of the dispute.

On LabourList this morning, we have a piece from vice-chair of East and South East Asians for Labour Sonny Leong and director of policy and advocacy at Hong Kong Watch Sam Goodman on the need for Labour to set out a coherent and distinctive strategy towards China. They write: “We cannot afford to wait until we are elected to office to begin considering how we will respond to what is fast becoming the UK’s most difficult and most talked about geopolitical relationship.”