Cleverly ‘doesn’t know’ if Zahawi was under tax investigation as chancellor

Foreign secretary also says he has no idea whether BBC chair helped Boris Johnson arrange guarantee on loan

James Cleverly has said he does not know whether Nadhim Zahawi was investigated over his taxes when chancellor, or when Rishi Sunak knew about the issue, as the government attempted to defend the embattled Tory party chair.

In an interview with Sky News, Cleverly, the foreign secretary, also said he had no idea whether Richard Sharp, the BBC chair, helped Boris Johnson arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000, weeks before the then PM recommended Sharp for the BBC role.