Nadhim Zahawi admits he paid nearly £5m to HMRC after ‘careless mistake’

Tory former minister says he made error over tax paid on sales of YouGov shares after previously saying he was being ‘smeared’

Nadhim Zahawi has admitted for the first time he paid nearly £5m to the tax authority to settle his tax affairs, despite previous denials about the figure involved and accusations that he was being “smeared” by journalists who first revealed the issue.

The former chancellor told the BBC on Sunday he had paid HMRC just under £5m after making what he called a “careless mistake” with the tax he paid on the sales of shares in YouGov, the polling company he helped found.