Summary
Here is a round-up of the day’s stories from Westminster:
Nadhim Zahawi has authorised HM Revenue and Customs to pass details of his tax affairs to the prime minister’s ethics adviser - who is investigating if he broke the rules for ministers – as Rishi Sunak continued to resist calls to sack him. Pressure on the Tory party chairman, who has admitted paying a penalty as part of an estimated £4.8m settlement with HMRC, intensified after the head of the organisation said such penalties were not issued for “innocent errors”, PA reported.
The head of HM Revenue and Customs has told MPs there are “no penalties for innocent errors” in relation to tax affairs, raising further questions about the circumstances that led to the Conservative party chair, Nadhim Zahawi, being fined by the tax office. HMRC’s chief executive, Jim Harra, said his department did not penalise taxpayers who were deemed to have taken “reasonable care”.
Dominic Raab is facing a much broader bullying investigation than originally anticipated with at least 24 civil servants involved in formal complaints against him, the Guardian understands. Government insiders believe the depth of the inquiry and severity of some of the claims means the deputy prime minister will struggle to survive in post, and it throws further doubt on Rishi Sunak’s judgment for having him in such a senior position.
Boris Johnson could get more taxpayers’ money to cover extra legal support as the inquiry into his Partygate denials drags on, it has emerged. The cost of helping the former prime minister defend himself over claims he misled parliament about law-breaking parties during Covid “could potentially exceed” the current £222,000 budget, a senior civil servant admitted.
An independent MP who lost the Tory whip after appearing to compare Covid vaccines to the Holocaust is suing Matt Hancock for criticising his remarks. Andrew Bridgen is suing the former health secretary for £100,000 over a tweet in which Hancock accused Bridgen of spouting “antisemitic, anti-vax, anti-scientific conspiracy theories” over the vaccine. Bridgen was widely condemned for making the comments, by MPs and campaigners from all parties.
The head of the inquiry into the Windrush debacle has expressed disappointment after Suella Braverman confirmed she has dropped three key reform commitments made after the Home Office scandal. The home secretary said she would not implement two changes that would have increased independent scrutiny of the Home Office’s immigration policies and a third promise to run reconciliation events with Windrush families.
Isla Bryson, a transgender woman found guilty of raping two women before transitioning, will not be imprisoned in Scotland’s all-female Cornton Vale prison, Nicola Sturgeon has told the Scottish parliament. The first minister confirmed Bryson would not be incarcerated in the women’s prison “either short-term or long-term”, after a report saying the offender had been transferred there on Tuesday prior to sentencing prompted outrage across the political and campaigning spectrum. Bryson was expected to be moved to a male prison on Thursday.
The UK climate minister – who recently stated not all fossil fuels were the “spawn of the devil” – received campaign donations from one of the largest fuel distributors in the UK as well as an aviation consultant and recruiter, it has emerged. Graham Stuart, Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, was appointed climate minister by Rishi Sunak in September. He has responsibility for net zero strategy and low carbon generation, and is the Commons lead for clean heat.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the UK politics live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Updated
Boris Johnson has disclosed that he has received an advance of more than £500,000 for his forthcoming memoirs.
The former prime minister’s latest entry in the Register of Members’ Interests states he “received £510,000 as an advance on an upcoming book yet to be published”.
Publishers HarperCollins announced earlier this month they had acquired the rights for what was described as a prime ministerial memoir “like no other”.
