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       Rishi Sunak is a ‘remarkable force for good’ in British politics, says minister

       An ethics probe into Rishi Sunak’s financial affairs will be like the Sue Gray investigation ‘without the rigour’, Labour says.

       The embattled multimillionaire chancellor is facing questions over his family’s tax arrangements, and Boris Johnson has told his ethics adviser Lord Geidt to conduct an inquiry.

       Mr Sunak wrote to the PM seeking an investigation just days after The Independent revealed his wife’s “non-dom“ tax status.

       There has been mounting pressure over the chancellor’s tax affairs. Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner claims Rishi Sunak has made a “catalogue of potential breaches of the ministerial code”.

       She pointed out that the matter has been referred back to Lord Geidt, who confirmed last week he was “completely satisfied” with the steps the chancellor has taken to meet the requirements of the code.

       Ms Rayner said: “All this has shades of the Sue Gray report but without the rigour. Will we ever see Lord Geidt’s report at all?”

       In a statement on Twitter, Mr Sunak said: “I have always followed the rules and I hope such a review will provide further clarity.”

       Recommended How did Boris Johnson get to Kyiv? PM took secret train trip into Ukraine ‘I have always followed the rules’: Rishi Sunak asks PM for probe into his own ministerial interests Rishi Sunak may learn the hard way that entitlement isn’t a good look

       Key Points Boris Johnson orders ethics inquiry into Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak seeks probe into his ministerial interests Rayner claims Sunak made ‘catalogue of potential breaches of Ministerial Code’ ‘It’s not an isolated incident’: shadow justice secretary says Sunak may have broken ministerial code Senior Tory minister: Rishi Sunak ‘declared everything that should have been declared’ ‘Ukrainians have the courage of a lion’, says Johnson British PM takes ‘secret’ train trip to Kyiv

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       Welcome to The Independent’s live blog on everything related to politics in the UK.

       Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 11 April 2022 06:05

       1649656178 PM takes ‘secret’ train trip to Kyiv

       Prime minister Boris Johnson on Saturday travelled to Kyiv on a train from Poland.

       “I am travelling on a fantastic train through to Kyiv from Poland – I just want to say a massive thank you to all the staff of Ukrainian Railways for what you’re doing,” the prime minister said in a clip shared by the Ukrainian Railways.

       Mr Johnson met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and took a walk through the war-torn capital.

       Adam Forrest has more.

       How did Boris Johnson get to Kyiv? PM took secret train trip into Ukraine PM thanks ‘iron people’ of the railway for helping arrange journey from Poland

       Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 11 April 2022 06:49

       1649656215 'Ukrainians have the courage of a lion’, says PM

       Following his trip to Kyiv, prime minister Boris Johnson in a tweet compared the courage of Ukrainians to that of a lion.

       “President Volodymyr Zelensky has given the roar of that lion. The UK stands unwaveringly with the people of Ukraine,” he wrote.

       Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 11 April 2022 06:50

       1649656268 Sunak seeks probe into his ministerial interests

       Chancellor Rishi Sunak has written to prime minister Boris Johnson seeking an investigation into his finances amid a row over his millionaire wife Akshata Murty’s tax arrangements.

       The chancellor has asked that his declarations are submitted to Lord Christopher Geidt, the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, because of growing scrutiny over his tax affairs.

       In his letter to the prime minister, the chancellor said his “overriding concern” was to retain public confidence in the answers that were given, recommending that “Lord Geidt makes all his conclusions public”.

       Lamiat Sabin and Adam Forrest report.

       Rishi Sunak asks PM for probe into his own ministerial interests Chancellor believes probe will provide the public ‘clarity’ about tax situation

       Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 11 April 2022 06:51

       1649656887 Truss takes over Sunak as top contender to replace PM

       Liz Truss is emerging as a frontrunner within the Torries to replace prime minister Boris Johnson after Rishi Sunak was caught in a controversy over his wife’s tax affairs.

       Sir Keir Starmer remains the favourite to become the next prime minister, with comparison site Oddschecker putting the Labour leader’s chances at 6/1.

       Within the Conservative Party, the foreign secretary is now out in front of the chancellor, with odds of 9/1 for Ms Truss and 21/10 for Mr Sunak, reports Andy Gregory.

       Liz Truss overtakes Rishi Sunak as favourite to replace Boris Johnson ‘The odds have moved dramatically against’ the chancellor in recent days, Betfair says

       Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 11 April 2022 07:01

       1649657550 Labour MP slams Sunak over his family's tax affairs

       “Rishi Sunak wants an enquiry into who leaked details of his wife’s tax status. I want an enquiry into why he has put up taxes 15 times for ordinary people while his family was allowed to get away with not paying taxes,” Labour MP Bill Esterson wrote on Twitter.

       Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 11 April 2022 07:12

       1649658745 Rayner claims Sunak made ‘catalogue of potential breaches of Ministerial Code’

       Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner claims Rishi Sunak has made a “catalogue of potential breaches of the Ministerial Code”.

       In a letter addressed to the prime minister, she accused the chancellor of failing to be transparent about his finances.

       Mr Sunak says he has “always followed the rules”.

       You can read the full letter below.

       Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 07:32

       1649660112 Rayner letter was ‘trigger’ for Sunak requesting ministerial interests review

       Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed says a letter from Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner to the prime minister detailing a list of concerns seems to have been the trigger for Chancellor Rishi Sunak referring himself to Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests.

       Mr Reed told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What really concerns me is that there is a growing sense of self-entitlement right across the top of Government now.

       “We saw it in ‘partygate’ where the Government were breaking the laws that they expected everyone else to follow, ripping up the rules after Owen Patterson, and now with Rishi Sunak.

       “Some of the concerns include the Chancellor’s failure to declare his wife’s non-dom status in his register of interests, and why that matters is because the Finance Act, this year just went through Parliament, includes changes that benefit wealthy non-doms.

       “Now under the ministerial code, ministers should not be taking decisions, they should recuse themselves from decisions where they personally may be benefiting, and the Chancellor’s household income certainly benefited in this case.”

       Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 07:55

       1649661252 ‘It’s not an isolated incident’: shadow justice secretary says Sunak may have broken ministerial code

       Asked if he thinks Rishi Sunak has possibly broken the ministerial code, Steve Reed told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Absolutely. But it’s not an isolated incident, there are other failures here as well.”

       The shadow justice secretary added: “He also failed to declare his wife’s ￡690-million share-hold in Infosys, an IT company based in India, which has had, according to what we’ve been able to find out, 15 different one-to-one meetings with senior ministers, including the prime minister, and has been awarded multimillion-pound government contracts.

       “Now, if the chancellor’s household is benefiting from contracts of that kind that should have been something that he declared in the register of interest, but he didn’t.

       “There’s a whole list of areas where the chancellor appears to have failed to declare things he should have declared.”

       Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 08:14

       1649662392 Senior Tory minister: Rishi Sunak ‘declared everything that should have been declared’

       The chancellor has been “very candid about his own arrangements at every stage,” environment secretary George Eustice says.

       Asked about Rishi Sunak referring himself to Boris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, Mr Eustice told Sky News: “Rishi Sunak and his wife have spoken for themselves on this. I’m not his accountant, I’m not responsible obviously for his tax affairs or those indeed of his wife.

       “She gave a statement over the weekend, she’s now made clear that although she hasn’t done anything wrong, she’s a citizen of India and grew up and was born in India, has some income from that, nevertheless she’s changing her tax arrangements so that she would pay the tax on that income here in the UK.

       “Rishi himself, there’s been some speculation around that, he’s written to the prime minister and asked the adviser on ministerial (standards) to look at this case. He’s very clear that he’s declared everything that should have been declared at the right time and there is a process here that you have as a minister.

       “You declare all your interests to the permanent secretary in your department, and the Cabinet Office then decide which bits should be made public, which bits they should be aware of, there’s a duty of candour in both directions and Rishi’s very clear that he’s been very candid about his own arrangements at every stage.”

       Laurie Churchman 11 April 2022 08:33

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