Nadhim Zahawis tax affairs: A timeline of how the controversy played out

Questions have swirled around Nadhim Zahawi and his tax affairs in recent weeks but the row came to a head in the last few days piling pressure on the Tory chairman and forcing Rishi Sunak to address what he knew and when about the allegations.

The ongoing row centres on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov, the polling firm Mr Zahawi founded. The shares, worth an estimated 27m, were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawis family.

Here is how the controversy has played out:

Mr Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, threatens to take legal action against The Independent after we asked him a series of questions and inform him we planned to report thatHMRCofficials were investigating his tax affairs.

The Independent reveals that HMRC was investigating Mr Zahawi and his tax affairs following inquiries made by the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office. The chancellor denies knowing about any inquiries made about his tax affairs.