When an inquiry by the prime minister’s ethics advisor into the tax affairs of Nadhim Zahawi found that the then-Conservative Party Chair had committed a serious breach of the ministerial code, he was dismissed within minutes.
When a previous standards chief, Sir Alex Allan, concluded that then-home secretary Priti Patel had breached the ministerial code over bullying, she was backed by Boris Johnson and it was Sir Alex who resigned – in protest. (For further reading, check out what the Institute for Government’s Dr Catherine Haddon wrote at the time).
