Rishi Sunak vows to quell sleaze and restore 'integrity' after Zahawi sacking

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Rishi Sunak has pledged to crack down on the sleazy in government and restore "integrity" after he sacked Nadhim Zahawi over his tax affairs.

The prime minister says he made a 'quick decision' to fire the Tory president after his ethics adviser uncovered 'serious' breaches of the cabinet code, more than six months after The Independent An HMRC investigation revealed.

< p>Speaking at the NHS hospital in County Durham, Mr Sunak said he had acted ‘pretty decisively’ in ordering Sir Laurie Magnus' inquiry after it emerged Mr Zahawi had paid a £1m fine to HMRC.

Questioned why so many senior Tories struggled to follow the rules, Mr Sunak said: “Things that happened before I was Prime Minister, there is nothing I can do about them – which I think you you can hold me accountable, that's how I handle things that happen under my watch."

The Prime Minister said: "As you saw with Nazhim Zahawi, I have asked the independent advisor to look at it right away, I acted on his fin it sounds right away. That should give you some confidence that these things matter to me."

"I will take whatever steps are necessary to restore integrity in politics," Sunak added, telling the audience of NHS staff and journalists: 'Integrity is really important to me'.

Mr Sunak has faced sordid allegations in recent days, his Deputy First Minister Dominic Raab still under investigation over allegations of bullying.

Senior Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – treasurer of the party's powerful 1922 committee – said Mr Zahawi should now consider resigning from his Stratford-Upon-Avon seat.

Sir Geoffrey told BBC 5 Live: "I think the best result would be if Nadhim said he didn't want to stand. I am sure he will think very carefully about his political future in the coming weeks. to represent his constituents in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

The party has...