Sunak’s integrity not in doubt, despite inquiry by parliament watchdog, says minister

PM has not done ‘anything sinister’ regarding his financial interests says Chris Philip

Good morning. Rishi Sunak will be chairing cabinet this morning, in the awkward position of having joined the list of MPs being investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Chris Philp, the policing minister, has been giving interviews this morning and he told GB News that Sunak’s integrity was not in doubt.

Referring to Sunak’s appearance at the liaison committee last month, and an evasive answer that triggered the complaint to the standards commissioner, Philp said:

I think no one really doubts Rishi’s integrity and ethics. He has declared his wife’s interests in his ministerial declaration. He did draw attention to that to the committee when he gave evidence and he also wrote to them subsequently as well.

He will work with the standards commissioner to clear up any questions that are outstanding.

A government official suggested that Sunak had not been asked a specific question about Koru Kids, and could not be expected to be across every firm his wife invested in, given her wide range of financial interests. He told the committee he had made all the correct declarations because he had lodged his wife’s financial affairs with the Cabinet Office. And the fact that the register of interests has not been published in over a year is a result of the high turnover of ministers in recent months, and the fact there was no independent adviser until recently.