Politics Miatta Fahnbulleh Nadhim Zahawi

Nadhim Zahawi defended Farage not declaring that £5 million as ‘the right thing to do’, and Miatta Fahnbulleh’s ‘Pull the other one’ spoke for the nation

Oonagh Keating. Updated July 13th, 2026

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Nadhim Zahawi was sacked as Chancellor after being in post for 63 days, not quite a Liz Truss and a half – if you prefer informal measurements.

He lost the role having been judged to have breached the MPs’ code of conduct because he hadn’t disclosed that he was under investigation by HMRC over a considerable sum of money.

Zahawi later settled the dispute by paying HMRC almost £5 million, so we can see why he might have been left a little bitter about parliamentary procedure.

On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he described the body that assesses whether MPs have broken the code as ‘a kangaroo court’, which couldn’t be trusted to give Nigel Farage a fair hearing. This, he claims, is why Farage has opted for a by-election as a supposedly fairer way of proving he did nothing wrong when he –

Failed to disclose he’d been given £5 million by a crypto billionaire just before changing his mind about standing for Parliament

Failed to disclose that a convicted fraudster had been bankrolling his accommodation, security, staffing and more, in the run-up to that election

Changed his story about what the £5 million was for in different interviews.

The Labour MP for Peckham, Miatta Fahnbulleh, questioned Zahawi on the £5 million ‘gift’.

Nadhim Zahawi: Is it right that Nigel be judged by a kangaroo court of MPs who are all anti-Nigel?

Laura Kuenssberg: Which is parliamentary authorities.”

Miatta Fahnbulleh: Every single member of Parliament opens themselves up to the same scrutiny. If you do things wrong, you need to be held to account, and he’s clearly done a set of things that are wrong.”

NZ: The best scrutiny is the people of Clacton, because ultimately, they will judge Nigel and they will judge the Reform Party.

MF: Do you think it’s okay to take five million and not declare it?

NZ: Yes, because it’s within the rules. Lawyers have looked at it.

MF: That’s what he will be judged on.

NZ: It was a private gift, unconditional_

MF: Pull the other one.

Her reaction said what many were thinking.

Tweeters reacted to his comments.

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