Conservative Party leadership candidate Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday he was being smeared over his tax affairs as the search for Britain’s next prime minister threatened to descend into an ugly briefing war.
Mr Zahawi said he was not aware of any inquiry into his business affairs and promised to publish his tax returns if elected leader, after anonymous briefings to the media that his taxes were being audited by officials.
The claims emerged shortly after Mr Zahawi helped to trigger the leadership contest by joining a Cabinet mutiny against Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who announced his intention to resign on Thursday.
Mr Zahawi is one of 11 candidates to have entered the race, with party rulemakers expected to set out the timetable for the contest later on Monday as negative briefings do the rounds in Westminster.
"It’s not been our best start," said Sajid Javid, a former health secretary seeking the leadership. "Poisonous gossip, attack memos, allegations thrown around... this isn't House of Cards or Game of Thrones".
Mr Zahawi told Sky News he was "clearly being smeared... I've always declared my taxes."
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss became the 11th candidate to put her name forward overnight, echoing many of her colleagues by promising tax cuts if she becomes prime minister.
"Under my leadership, I would start cutting taxes from day one to take immediate action to help people deal with the cost of living," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt said she would halve VAT on fuel if elected, while Mr Zahawi, appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer last week, said every department would be told to cut costs so that taxes could come down.
Mr Javid used his launch speech to promise that an income tax cut would be brought forward by a year to 2023 and that fuel duty would be cut an an emergency budget.
Almost alone in playing down the prospect of tax cuts is former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who used a slick campaign video to say he would bring realism rather than "comforting fairy tales".
A leaked dossier said to be circulating among Mr Sunak's opponents said he had been a high-tax chancellor who was too close to the tarnished Johnson government.
After journalists spotted the name Patrick Robertson on the dossier's file data, The Times reported that an aide of that name who works for Home Secretary Priti Patel had admitted circulating the memo, but denied writing it.
All eyes were on Ms Patel, a hardliner on immigration urged by some Conservatives to enter the race, as the deadline loomed for her to announce her intentions.
Sir Keir Starmer, the opposition Labour leader, accused the tax-cutting candidates of plucking promises from a "magic money tree" - turning the tables on Conservatives who have often made the same complaint against Labour.
Tom Tugendhat, a backbench MP who is pitching his candidacy as a clean break from the Johnson years, promised on Monday to bring back "seriousness and integrity" as well as making the ubiquitous call for tax cuts.
"I have a vision and I have a 10-year plan," said Mr Tugendhat, a former soldier. "I've shown that I can lead where it matters, that I will stand up and be counted."
Mr Johnson, making his first public remarks since he announced his resignation last week, said he would not come out in favour of any of his potential successors.
"The job of the prime minister at this stage is to let the party decide, let them get on with it, and to continue delivering on the projects that we were elected to deliver," he said.
Candidates who served under Mr Johnson emphasised their experience. Ms Truss said she had served in six departments and would "hit the ground running" as prime minister on issues such as the economy and the war in Ukraine.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, regarded as one of the government's most effective communicators, won the backing of Environment Secretary George Eustice, one of the few current Cabinet members to have made an endorsement so far.
Michael Gove, who was fired from the Cabinet by Mr Johnson last week but is seen as a potential kingmaker, revealed he was backing junior minister Kemi Badenoch because she was "brave, principled, brilliant and kind".
Mr Javid recycled an advert from his failed leadership campaign in 2019, saying he did not have "a fancy new video" in an apparent swipe at Mr Sunak.
Attorney General Suella Braverman promised to get tough on Brussels in an overture to Brexit supporters, while another former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said he wanted to cut taxes without increasing the national debt.
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Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, replacing Rishi Sunak. AFP -
Mr Zahawi, 55, inherits an economy that is heading for a sharp slowdown or even a recession, and will face immediate pressure to do more to help struggling taxpayers. PA -
Mr Zahawi was previously education secretary and was replaced by Michelle Donelan. PA -
Mr Zahawi with Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa during a visit to Imperial College London in June. PA -
Mr Zahawi answers questions from pupils during a visit to Manor Park Primary School in Sutton in May. PA -
Mr Zahawi makes a statement in the House of Commons in March. PA -
Mr Zahawi attends the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. Getty Images -
Mr Zahawi holds a media briefing on the coronavirus pandemic at Downing Street in June 2021. Mr Zahawi was appointed minister in charge of the Covid-19 vaccine rollouts in 2020. Getty Images -
Conservative London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey and Mr Zahawi on the final day of local election campaigning in May 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Zahawi visits the Cullimore independent community chemist in Edgware in January last year after it became the first pharmacy in London to offer the Covid-19 vaccination. Getty Images -
Mr Zahawi stands next to Carrie Symonds at the 2019 Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Getty Images -
Former prime minister David Cameron and Mr Zahawi at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham in 2010. Getty Images
And eyebrows were raised on Sunday when Rehman Chishti, a little-known MP recently appointed a junior minister, entered the race with a low-budget video calling for "aspirational conservatism" and a fresh start.
Some MPs called for the rule-making 1922 Committee to raise the bar for entry to the race, to stop it descending into prolonged blue-on-blue warfare.
Backbench MP Tobias Ellwood quipped that he "might be the only one voting" if the list of candidates kept growing as he called for weaker candidates to be filtered out more quickly.
After the committee sets out the timetable on Monday, Tory MPs are expected to vote in the coming weeks to whittle down the list to two options to be put to the wider party membership.
Members will then vote over the summer, with Mr Johnson planning to remain in office on a caretaker basis until a winner of the contest is announced.
Conservative leadership candidates – in pictures
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Conservative Party members will chose between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in the race to become Britain's next prime minister, after Penny Mordaunt was eliminated. PA -
Rishi Sunak — former chancellor who resigned from his position last week. In a slick campaign video he said the government could not afford to fool voters about the difficulties ahead with ‘comforting fairy tales’. Getty Images -
Liz Truss — the UK’s Foreign Secretary has pledged to start cutting taxes 'from day one' if she becomes prime minister, to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. She has also vowed to ‘take the vital steps necessary’ to protect the Good Friday Agreement. Getty Images -
OUT OF THE RACE: Penny Mordaunt — Brexit-backing Trade Minister has insisted the Conservative Party was elected to ‘deliver a manifesto’. She played a prominent role in the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum. Reuters -
OUT OF THE RACE: Kemi Badenoch — former equalities minister has promised 'limited government' and 'a focus on the essentials'. She has said Boris Johnson was 'a symptom of the problems we face, not the cause of them'. Photo: UK Parliament -
OUT OF THE RACE: Tom Tugendhat —Foreign Affairs Committee chairman and ‘Remainer’ aims to reverse the national insurance rise. He says the presence of Brexit party and Leave figures on his team is reassuring for Brexiteers. Reuters -
OUT OF THE RACE: Suella Braverman — current Attorney General has promised 'rapid and large tax cuts' to ease inflation. She has said the energy crisis means 'we must suspend the all-consuming desire to achieve net zero by 2050'. Reuters -
OUT OF THE RACE: Nadhim Zahawi — newly appointed Chancellor has promised to cut taxes and push ahead with the reforms he started in his previous role as education secretary, to ‘deliver a great education for every child’. PA -
OUT OF THE RACE: Jeremy Hunt — runner-up to Boris Johnson in the 2019 leadership race, who has pledged to slash corporation tax to 15 per cent. He has also promised to back the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill. AFP -
OUT OF THE RACE: Rehman Chishti — newly appointed Foreign Office minister had spoken of the importance of lower taxes and having a small state with a big society. 'It’s about aspirational conservatism, it’s about fresh ideas and then it comes down to having a fresh team.' Getty Images -
OUT OF THE RACE: Sajid Javid — experienced former health secretary had planned to scrap the government’s national insurance increase, bring forward the proposed 1p income tax cut to next year and introduce a further ‘significant’ temporary reduction on fuel duty. PA -
OUT OF THE RACE: Grant Shapps — the Transport Secretary had said on TV: 'I am interested in the bread-and-butter issues that your viewers will be thinking about every single day of the week.' AP
