Taxy for Zahawi
THERE is no sugar-coating the Nadhim Zahawi calamity for the Tories.
Last year, already engulfed by multiple scandals, they appointed a Chancellor who turned out to be one of Britain’s biggest tax avoiders.
That said, the blame lies with Zahawi.
He kept his Inland Revenue difficulty from three successive Prime Ministers even as they handed him Cabinet jobs.
He failed to mention it in any declaration of interests, used lawyers to try to deter those investigating it and wrongly branded resulting news stories “smears”.
His resignation letter took another undignified swipe at the Press, which was just doing its job.
It was The Sun which revealed he had paid a tax penalty.
It is odd No10 never interrogated HMRC about the extent of Zahawi’s problems.
But we don’t blame Rishi Sunak for leaving the ultimate judgement to his ethics advisor.
That is why Laurie Magnus was hired — even if Labour prefers instant justice without trial for Tories.
Once the verdict was in, the PM acted immediately.
It is a sad end for Zahawi.
Plenty of people owe their lives to his effectiveness in overseeing the Covid jabs programme, even if they will never know it.
He is a popular MP too.
But this was a disaster entirely of his own making, which he handed abysmally. It is right he has gone.
Silly suds
THE campaign to rehabilitate Prince Andrew is mind-bogglingly tone-deaf.
The disgraced Duke has already paid Virginia Giuffre millions to keep quiet — an unusual strategy for a supposedly innocent man falsely accused of career-ending wrongdoing by a fantasist.
Now, though, after his absurd alibis involving sweat and a particularly memorable pizza, comes the maddest yet.
His chum Ian Maxwell may look at two masked adults sitting in a bath and conclude that it is physically impossible for them to frolic sexually therein . . . but millions may beg to differ.
Indeed they may marvel at the paucity of Mr Maxwell’s imagination.
Now consider today’s evidence that the infamous photo of Andrew and Virginia is genuine, not the fake Ghislaine Maxwell now claims, and this desperate PR drive looks ever more unhinged.
Andrew always inhabited a different planet.
His friends plainly do too.
Enough. Have a little respect for the public. Stop insulting their intelligence.
Cheats clamp
THE well-meaning Modern Slavery Act has been a Trojan Horse for foreign criminals aiming to cheat their way to a life in Britain.
Offenders arriving on small boats routinely claim to be trafficked victims. So we welcome the crackdown tomorrow.
It’s not THE solution to this crisis. But it’s a start.