Boris Johnson has approved an investigation into Sage Sunak’s family finances

Boris Johnson has approved an investigation into Sage Sunak’s family finances but says he has full confidence in his chancellor.

A cabinet colleague stressed this morning that Sunak was not rich enough to become chancellor because more questions had been raised about his declaration of interest.

Sunak referred himself to the government’s ethics chief last night for his announcement. This morning, the prime minister approved an investigation by Lord Gidt, an independent adviser to the minister.

Johnson’s deputy spokesman said: “I can confirm that the Prime Minister has agreed to the Chancellor’s request for Lord Gidt to do this.” Asked if Johnson had maintained “full confidence in the Chancellor”, he said: “He does.”

Johnson’s associates are urging the chancellor to release his own tax records as Sunak seeks to recover the initiative after revealing his wife’s non-domicile status. He went to work at the Treasury’s Darlington office this morning, insisting he was not considering resigning.

George Eustace, the environment secretary, acknowledged that ministers should not make decisions that “directly affect your own family members”, but stressed that Sunak did not and that last year’s budget would not change the non-dom situation. Impressed his wife.

Asked if Sunak was “too rich” to be chancellor or potential party leader, Eustace told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “I don’t think we should have a rule that says you can’t be too rich. What matters is your knowledge, your technical skills. “

He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer. Is the ability to show empathy [with] People who may have experiences and challenges in life that you have not personally experienced. “

Sunak insisted he had disclosed all his interests to Cabinet Office and Treasury officials, but Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reid questioned why the public interest registers did not mention his wife’s ো 690-million shareholding in Infosys, an IT India-based company. We have learned that 15 different one-on-one meetings have taken place with senior ministers, including the Prime Minister, and that millions of pounds have been awarded in government contracts. “

It also surfaced last night that Sunak’s US green card, which he acknowledged had been valid for nearly two years since becoming chancellor, had expired because he could not travel to the United States due to a coronavirus epidemic.

Sunak told Lord Gidt, an independent adviser to the ministers’ interests, to review “the various declarations of interest I have made” since he joined the government to judge whether he was completely transparent.

“I am confident that this kind of review of my announcements has resulted in the release of all relevant information,” Sunak wrote. To confirm

Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, will now pay UK taxes on her foreign income, and ministers insisted it was time to “move on” from the controversy. However, Labor insisted that the chancellor had “many more questions” about why he maintained his non-dom status and what he planned to do in the future.

A blame game is now underway, even after Sunak launched an investigation with threats of criminal punishment against the leaked information, which was known only to “very few people” in the government. Ministers have accused government employees of leaking money to harm the government, but officials have suggested that they be “thrown under the bus” and held accountable for political gain.

Prime Minister Sunak has given his support and source number 10 said that he was “100 percent behind the sage”. But Johnson’s associates say Sunak was “not smart” about appearing defensively about the story.

One of the ministers said, “The solution is to say, ‘How much tax do I pay, how much tax does my wife pay?’ “It simply came to our notice then. There is no suggestion that he did anything wrong, but this drip, drip creates that idea. He needs to have that open book moment. “

Some in the government are urging Johnson to switch jobs with Lease Truss and take Sunak to the State Department so that “things can be kept in bed and everyone is allowed to keep their heads up”, but No. 10 says there are no plans to do so.

“In the last two years, Sage Sunak has been a tremendous force for the good of this country,” said Kit Malthaus, Policing Minister, and stressed that the Chancellor was “committed to the job.” But he acknowledged that the story was published on the day the tax hike took effect.

He told the BBC that Murthy’s tax system was “completely legal”, but acknowledged that “it was against the spirit of British fair play and so they changed the situation”.

Speaking on Times Radio, Molthouse said: “Sage Sunak is now an honorable Yorkshireman, as a Member of Parliament, and he knows Yorkshire well that ‘hard times do not last, hard people do’. “

Treasury Permanent Secretary Sir Tom Scholar is launching a leak investigation and Sunak’s team believes the leak was “potentially criminal”, although the law imposing privacy responsibilities on HM Revenue and Customs does not apply to other officials.

One minister said the leak “looks like a well-choreographed political attack” and another Johnson aide insisted that civilian employees were responsible. “I don’t think it’s a political issue but an official one, because no one will benefit from it politically,” he said. It creates a real sense of ‘us and them’ and feeds the narrative of the labor of being out of touch when Boris is in real touch. It makes everyone look bad. “

However, Dave Penman, head of the FDA Civil Servants Union, said that “most of the leaks are political. Civil servants know the consequences and have long been in the whistleblowing system if they think there is a public interest” and risked their careers if discovered. Political leaks have all the features, ”he said.

Yvette Cooper, Shadow Home Secretary, says the Sunak family tax system is legal “but the question is whether it is ethical”.

Sunak has also been accused of “lack of transparency” in his green card issue, but his associates say he has consulted with American lawyers and is confident he has not broken any rules, insisting that holding a green card means he has to pay. Responsible. More taxes.

Sunak paid full UK tax on his British income, including his government salary, but also needed an account with US authorities until his green card expired last October, potentially exposing him to double taxation.

The green card has been a “hangover” since Sunak worked in the United States before becoming an MP, Mallhouse said. Asked by the BBC’s Sunday Morning whether Sunak’s retention of US residence meant he was not committed to Britain, Molthouse said it was a “rotten hint”, stressing that the chancellor was “probably committed to serving the public in the most promising way possible.” Put forward. In times of unrest “.

Sunak previously used the Green Card for personal travel to the United States, where he has a home in Santa Monica, and returned it before his first trip to the United States as Chancellor.

Malthouse says holding a green card “actually adds more complexity and more stringent obligations to him and no less”, from a tax perspective. “He made a statement that when he went to the United States as Chancellor of the Exchequer – as a minister, I think – he asked what he should do and they said ‘give it back’ and he did.”

However, sources close to Sunak acknowledged that the green card had “fallen” at the moment because he had not been able to travel to the United States for more than a year during the epidemic and that the chancellor had not tried to challenge it.

U.S. government guidelines tell green card holders that they “abandon your permanent resident” if evidence is found that they do not want the United States to make them their permanent home.