FORMER chancellor Nadhim Zahawi issued a mealy mouthed apology today for the tax discrepancies that got him sacked after announcing that he would step down from Parliament.

He said that he was “sorry” and that he should have “probably been more explicit” in a ministerial declaration of his “just shy of £5 million” tax settlement with HMRC two years ago.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked Mr Zahawi as Tory Party chairman last year after an ethics inquiry found that he had broken the ministerial code several times over his tax affairs.

The outgoing MP for Stratford-on-Avon told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that he did not regret accusing journalists of smearing him when reports of the HMRC investigation into his tax affairs first emerged.

Mr Zahawi, who served as chancellor for two months, from July 5 to September 6 2022, and was also education secretary, revealed that he was standing down from Parliament on Thursday in a resignation letter posted on social media platform X.