Rishi Sunak news - live: Chancellor defends wife over non-dom tax status as Labour demands answers

A top Tory MP has suggested that the conversation around the non-dom tax status of Rishi Sunak’s wife distracts “from what we need to be focusing on”, referring to Ukraine.

Asked about the situation on Sky News, Tobias Ellwood, who is chair of the Commons defence select committee, said the issue was not with the chancellor but with the UK’s “out of date” tax rules.

“Every minister, when you enter government, has to make a declaration ... which is confirmed to be legal before you can take up the post, so there’s nothing illegal about what’s bee done by the chancellor whatsoever.

“If there are bigger, more fundamental questions, about the non-dom status that is something for us, as a country, to debate. But the idea that we focus on this discussion - about following the rules that actually exist at the moment - I think is a distraction from what we need to focus on: how Britian and other countries are going to support Ukraine.”

Pushed on whether having non-dom tax status is an issue that has beleaguered the Tory party for “quite some time”, Mr Ellwood repeated: “If the rules as a whole need to be changed, let’s have that debate, but that’s away from Rishi Sunak’s wife and is more to do with the continuation of the non-dom status and the privileges that you gain from that.”

And he added: “In my view, they are out of date, and need to be reviewed.”

Mr Sunak has faced a mountain of criticism after it was revealed his wife, Akshata Murty, holds non-dom tax status, which means she does not have to pay UK tax on income from dividends from foreign investments, rental payments on property overseas or bank interest. It also means a person avoids UK inheritance tax.

The revelations about his wife came after Mr Sunak announced a raft of tax hikes in his Spring Statement last month.

Labour’s Emily Thornberry has accused Akshata Murty, Rishi Sunak’s wife, of “taking advantage” of her decision to claim non-domicile - non-dom for short - status to avoid paying taxes.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the shadow attorney general said:

“In the end, we have somebody who’s been living here for eight years, raising her children here, living at ... Downing Street in accommodation provided by the taxpayer and aspiring to be the wife of the next prime minister, and yet she says that she isn’t a permanent resident of this country.”

Ms Thornberry added that the ministerial code mentions that the financial status of ministers’ spouses are relevant because “there can be a conflict of interest”.

She said it is a “complete red herring what passport somebody has”, in reference to the fact Ms Murty is an Indian citizen.

The senior Labour MP finished by saying:

“What’s relevant is that she’s of the 0.1 per cent of the population who have positively chosen to say that although they’re living here, they’re not living here permanently and taking advantage of that decision in order to not pay as much tax.”

Following my earlier post (8.12am), here’s our policy correspondent Jon Stone with more on what Tory MP Tobias Ellwood had to say about Rishi Sunak’s wife this morning:

A Conservative minister has branded the commentary around Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, “a little bit unpleasant, to be frank”.

Speaking on LBC Radio, Greg Hands repeated fellow Tories’ crticism of Mr Sunak’s critics, saying it’s unfair to target MPs’ families.

“As politicians, I think we should stick to the politicians - it’s the politicians who should be scrutinised, not politicians’ families,” he said.

Mr Hands added in his defence:

“As it is, Rishi Sunak’s wife has put out a statement yesterday, explaining that she does pay UK tax on her UK income, pays international taxes on her international income; that is not unusual for somebody who is a foreign national.

“She is an Indian national and her affairs in that regard are not unusual for somebody who is not domiciled here, but is a foreign national.”

This is a good snippet from Insider’s Henry Dyer.

Boris Johnson has reportedly filmed a broadcast interview, to be released on Saturday, where he will likely be questioned on everything from Ukraine to Partygate.

The catch: his interviewers are Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies, who double as GB News presenters.

Rishi Sunak and his wife were legally declared to be “permanent US residents” – including for tax purposes – while he was chancellor of the UK, it has been reported.

The claim comes after The Independent revealed that the Chancellor’s spouse Akhshata Murty has non-domiciled status despite residing in Downing Street – potentially letting her off the hook for around £4.4m in tax.

Holders of the green card are required to pay US tax on their worldwide income – and also to make a legal commitment to “make the US your permanent home”, writes our policy correspondent Jon Stone.

The pledge would seemingly be at odds with Mr Sunak’s position as Chancellor of the United Kingdom, being a member of parliament since 2015 and minister since 2018, and the fact he lives in the chancellor’s apartment on Downing Street.

Conservative Party donor Mohamed Amersi has issued libel proceedings against a former Tory MP.

Mr Amersi, who contributed to Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign, issued the proceedings against Charlotte Leslie and the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC), of which she is the director, in a row over allegations that she tried to damage his reputation.

He previously accused Miss Leslie of allegedly collecting information about his business dealings and family and compiling memos and briefing documents. Last year, his lawyers claimed in written arguments prepared for a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that these were shared with “various members of the diplomatic, national security and political communities”.

PA reports:

He sought, through data protection legislation, to get the court to determine whether there was further personal data held on him, and if he should be given information in relation to recipients and sources that should be disclosed in a row.

But it was then accepted by the parties that Mr Amersi’s claim would need to transfer to a different court procedure as there was a dispute over facts in the case.

Mr Amersi - through his solicitors Carter-Ruck - has now issued libel proceedings against Miss Leslie and CMEC.

Miss Leslie represented Bristol North West between May 2010 and May 2017.

Let’s get some Partygate news now. A former London mayoral campaign manager has allegedly been put forward as a local election candidate by the Conservatives despite him being pictured at a lockdown-breaching party in December 2020.

Ben Mallet has been put forward by a local Conservative group as its hopeful for this year’s borough council and local authority elections being held across the UK on 5 May, Guido Fawkes reports.

Mr Mallet, ex-London mayoral campaign manager for Tory hopeful Shaun Bailey, was part of a group that made headlines at the end of last year when a photo surfaced of 24 people at a lockdown-breaching party in the Westminster-based Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ).

In the extraordinary image, which went viral after it was leaked to the Daily Mirror, Mr Mallet can be seen lying on the ground in front of the group, holding a glass of wine and wearing braces.

Does this suggest Conservatives believe the public is over Partygate? Read our full report: