Chancellor Rishi Sunak has referred himself to the Prime Minister's independent adviser on ministerial interests after questions were raised over his family's financial affairs.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, Mr Sunak asked that Lord Geidt should review all his declarations of interest since he first became a minister in 2018 to ensure they had been properly stated.
Sharing the letter to social media, the Chancellor emphasised that he has "always followed the rules".
Today I have written to the Prime Minister asking him to refer my ministerial declarations to the Independent Advisor on Ministers’ Interests.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) April 10, 2022
I have always followed the rules and I hope such a review will provide further clarity. pic.twitter.com/JjVRDFJELl
The move came after it had emerged his wife Akshata Murty held a non-domicile (non-dom) status in the UK for tax purposes.
It had also emerged that Mr Sunak had a US green card when he became Chancellor, with Labour warning that both issues raised potential conflicts of interest.
Deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to the Prime Minister and Lord Geidt with a series of detailed questions about his family’s affairs which she said needed answering.
“A fish rots from the head. It is the Prime Minister’s responsibility to bring this debacle to a close by ensuring that standards are upheld across his Cabinet,” she said.
Ms Murty announced that she would pay UK taxes on all her foreign income on Friday last week.
READ MORE: Former Chancellor Sajid Javid admits he also held non-dom status
It has been estimated that her non-dom status could have saved her £20 million in taxes on dividends from her shares in Infosys, an Indian IT company founded by her father.
In his letter requesting a review, Mr Sunak said: “My overriding concern is that the public retain confidence in the answers that are given and I believe the best way of achieving this is to ensure those answers are entirely independent, without bias or favour,” he said.
“I am confident that such a review of my declarations will find all relevant information was appropriately declared.
“I have throughout my ministerial career followed the advice of officials regarding matters or propriety and disclosure and will continue to do so.”
Earlier Mr Sunak ordered a full-scale investigation by the Cabinet Office and the Treasury into who leaked details of his wife’s tax status to the media.
Labour accused Mr Sunak of hypocrisy, saying his family was saving tens of millions of pounds as a result of the arrangement while he was putting up taxes for millions of others.
In her letter, Ms Rayner questioned whether Mr Sunak had ever benefited from the use of tax havens – particularly when he ran hedge funds before he was an MP – and whether he had received any updates on his blind trust since becoming Chancellor.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross says Chancellor Rishi Sunak should come clean about wife's tax affairs
She also questioned whether he had made a legal promise to the US when he received his green card that it was his permanent residence, and, if so, whether he was legally a permanent US resident when he entered Parliament and became a minister.
And she sought an assurance that the Chancellor and his family would provide “full transparency” on all their overseas income and where they pay tax on it.
“The chaos caused by the Conservatives over the last week must be brought to an end,” she said.
“When it comes to the Tories hiking up taxes on working people, it seems it is one rule for them and another for the rest of us.”
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