Rishi Sunak’s request for an independent probe into his own finances has certainly raised eyebrows, as Twitter hasn’t forgotten about the last government probe the public are still waiting for.
The Sue Gray report into partygate (the Downing Street gatherings held in breach of the Covid social distancing rules in place at the time) is still not available to the public, weeks after it was initially expected.
It was ordered by the prime minister and was sent to him first before anyone else, meaning it was not totally impartial.
The senior civil servant will now not publish her findings until after the Metropolitan Police have conducted their own investigation into the same topic.
The police have since issued 20 fixed penalty fines over the parties, but more are expected to follow in the coming days – although there’s still a lack of transparency about just which members of government might be fined.
Even though Downing Street has tried very hard to move on from partygate altogether, people remain eager to read Gray’s full report.
The furore felt around the parties does slightly resemble the outrage about Sunak’s finances after details about his family’s tax status went public.
His wife, Akshata Murty, was found to be using a legal loophole to avoid paying UK taxes (although she has now promised to pay) while questions have been circling about Sunak’s US green card, which he only returned last October.
This means he was the chancellor for more than a year while still paying US tax on his worldwide earnings. Owning a green card is also perceived as the first step towards becoming a certified US citizen, prompting further concerns about Sunak’s loyalty to the UK.
So it is hardly surprising that many people started comparing Sunak’s request for an independent inquiry into his own finances to the elusive Sue Gray report.
Here’s what everyone’s being saying on Twitter:
The chancellor has also called for an inquiry into who leaked the details of his wife, Akshata Murty, and her non-domicile status over the weekend – which only prompted more Twitter reaction...