Parliament’s standards watchdog is investigating British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s disclosure of his wife’s stake in a childcare company that may profit from new government policy.
According to a Monday list of open inquiries on Parliament’s Commissioner for Standards’ website, a “declaration of interest” probe began on April 13.
Opposition parties questioned media reports that Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, was a shareholder in a daycare company that would benefit from March’s budget.
“We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest,” Sunak’s representative confirmed the probe was related to the childcare provider.
Sunak, who took office in October promising to run a government with honesty “at every level” to boost his party’s prospects ahead of a national election next year, is embarrassed by the inquiry.
Sunak and Murthy are the wealthiest Downing Street residents. Murthy, the daughter of Infosys’ founder, owns 0.9% of the company, worth about $600 million at Monday’s share price.
While Sunak was finance minister, Murthy’s “non-domiciled” tax position meant she didn’t pay British taxes on her foreign earnings. She renounced the status and agreed to pay British tax on her global income.
The Commissioner investigates House of Commons code of conduct violations.
Parliamentarians must disclose financial interests that could influence their work under the code of conduct.
If the investigation finds a breach, the Commissioner can order Sunak to apologize and take steps to avoid future mistakes or submit him to a committee that can suspend or expel him from parliament.
Opposition Labour Party deputy leader Angela Rayner said Sunak should update his ministerial interests register before municipal elections next month to close “a transparency black hole which is enabling the prime minister and those he has appointed to dodge proper scrutiny of their affairs.”
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