Nadhim Zahawi latest news: Jeremy Hunt U-turns on whether he’s ever paid tax penalty

Jeremy Hunt has finally revealed he has not paid a tax fine to HMRC after refusing three times.

However Mr Hunt later said he was willing to disclose that he has never paid a HMRC fine in a BBC interview.

His answer came upon the third time of asking, having declined to answer twice when the question was put to him during a question-and-answer session in the aftermath of his London Bloomberg speech.

Asked by BBC News to clarify whether he had ever paid a HMRC penalty, Mr Hunt said: “I don’t normally comment about my own tax records.

“But, I am chancellor, so, for the record: I haven’t paid a HMRC fine.”

Simon Case, cabinet secretary and head of the civil service since 2020, is a man in the news. Unusually for a top civil servant, he is at the centre of two scandals simultaneously: Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs, and the story of Boris Johnson’s £800,000 private and undeclared “credit facility”.

The spotlight is on Britain’s youngest-ever Whitehall chief, says Sean O’Grady.

Jeremy Hunt said he was willing to disclose that he has never paid a HMRC fine.

The Chancellor’s answer came upon the third time of asking, having declined to answer twice when the question was put to him during a question-and-answer session in the aftermath of his London Bloomberg speech.

Asked by BBC News to clarify whether he had ever paid a HMRC penalty, Mr Hunt said: “I don’t normally comment about my own tax records.

“But, I am Chancellor, so, for the record: I haven’t paid a HMRC fine.”

It comes as Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi faces an ethics probe after it emerged he finalised a tax settlement with HMRC, which included a penalty, while serving as chancellor.

“Prime minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now,” Mr Zahawi told the former PM – just two days after agreeing to become his chancellor.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Jeremy Hunt‘s speech underlined the failures of Conservative economic policy.

“Thirteen years of Tory economic failure have left living standards and growth on the floor, crashed our economy, and driven up mortgages and bills,” she said.

“The Tories have no plan for now, and no plan for the future. It’s time for a Labour government that will build a better Britain.”

Liberal Democrat treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said Mr Hunt‘s speech offered “cold comfort” for families and pensioners struggling with the cost of living.

“This Conservative party sounds like an unfaithful partner asking for yet another chance – but after crashing the economy and sending mortgages sky-high why should we trust them again?” she said.

The ongoing row centres on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov, the polling firm Mr Zahawi founded. The shares, worth an estimated £27m, were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawi’s family.

Here is how the controversy has played out:

Jeremy Hunt has declined to say whether he has ever paid a penalty to the taxman.

Asked whether he had ever paid a fine to HM Revenue and Customs, he said: “I’m not going to talk about my personal tax affairs, but I don’t think there’s anything you’d find interesting to write about if I can put it that way.”

The Chancellor was speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg.

His refusal comes as former chancellor Nadhim Zahawai is under scrutiny for paying a million pound fine to settle a tax dispute with HMRC.

He is being investigated by the prime minister’s ethics adviser over whether he broke the ministerial code over the dispute.

The UK Government will invest in “mini-Canary Wharfs” across the country to help reverse the economic migration from other parts of the country to the South East of England, the Chancellor said.

Jeremy Hunt, during a speech at Bloomberg’s London office, said it was “economically damaging” that the country’s second cities were not the “economic powerhouses” that they are in other countries, arguing UK GDP could be 5% higher if they were producing more growth.

Announcing measures designed to level-up, the Chancellor added: “This year we will announce investment zones, mini-Canary Wharfs, supporting each one of our growth industries, each one focused in high-potential but underperforming areas in line with our mission to level-up.

“They will be focused on our research strengths, executed in partnership with local government, with advantageous fiscal treatment to attract new investment.

“And we’ll shortly start a process to identify exactly where they will go.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has told people who left work during the pandemic and have not returned that “Britain needs you”.

“If companies can’t employ the staff they need, they can’t grow,” he said at an event hosted by Bloomberg.

He said that one fifth of working age adults are economically inactive. Around five million people do not want to work, he added.

“It’s time for a fundamental programme of reforms to support people with long-term conditions or mental illness to overcome the barriers and prejudices that prevent them from working.

“We will never harness the full potential of our country unless we unlock it for each and every one of our citizens.”

He added: “So to those who retired early after the pandemic, or haven’t found the right role after furlough, I say Britain needs you. And we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.”

The news comes as the Government is embroiled in a furore over Nadhim Zahawi’s tax scandal.

Outlining his plan for growth, Jeremy Hunt said it would be based on what he called his “four pillars”.

The Chancellor, in a speech at Bloomberg in London, said he would use the pillars as a “framework” against to assess individual policies.

He said they were “essential for any modern, innovation-led economy”.

The four pillars, all beginning with the letter “E” are: enterprise, education, employment and everywhere.