Nadhim Zahawi, former Conservative chancellor under Boris Johnson, has defected to Reform UK, the party has announced.
The former Conservative MP has just been introduced by Nigel Farage at a news conference in central London.
He is taking part in a press conference at the moment – you can watch that in the live stream at the top of this page.
Who is Nadhim Zahawi?
PA
The former businessman was first elected as the MP for Stratford-on-Avon in 2010, and became a minister in 2018 under Theresa May’s government.
He remained in the government under Boris Johnson, taking a role in the business department, before becoming responsible for the COVID vaccination programme during the pandemic.
In 2021, he was appointed education secretary, and then became chancellor following Rishi Sunak’s resignation from the Johnson government in July 2022.
He was only in the post for two months, as the Conservative Party leadership contest took place.
Zahawi went on to serve as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under the brief Liz Truss premiership, before then becoming Tory party chairman when Sunak took over weeks later.
But his ministerial career came to an end in January 2023 after an ethics investigation that found he had breached the ministerial code by failing to disclose that his tax affairs were being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs.
He stood down from parliament at the July 2024 general election.
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