Sunak Faces Investigation Over Wife's Childcare Firm

Facts

• On Monday, the UK Parliament's standards watchdog announced that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under investigation over a potential failure to declare wife Akshata Murty's shares in a childcare firm.¹
• The watchdog is reportedly probing Sunak under paragraph six of the ministerial code, which states that MPs "must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest" they hold.²
• The investigation stems from complaints that Sunak did not disclose that Murty held shares in Koru Kids — a childcare firm that trains and registers child-minders — before his liaison committee hearing appearance on 28 March.³
• However, Downing Street maintained that the conflict of interest was declared to the Cabinet Office before the hearing and that an updated list of ministers' interests would be published soon.⁴
• Koru Kids will likely benefit from a pilot childcare policy unveiled in the government's spring budget last month. The government said it would pay £1.2K to people who train to become child-minders through private childcare agencies, whereas those training with public providers will receive £600. As such, private firms like Koru Kids are expected to be in greater demand.⁵
• In December 2020, Koru Kids also allegedly received up to £10K of taxpayer money to furlough staff amid the COVID pandemic. Sunak was then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who crafted the government's furlough policy.⁵

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Firstpost, ³BBC News, ⁴Independent, and ⁵Mirror.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by INews. This is a huge setback for Rishi Sunak, who had promised to put integrity, professionalism, and accountability at the heart of his administration. He must now explain why he failed to come clean when asked about the shares his family held in a company that is set to benefit from his pilot childcare policy. The public wants a government focused on the country rather than one which bends the rules and avoids proper scrutiny for its own financial gain.
• Right narrative, as provided by Evening Standard. There isn't anything sinister about how Rishi Sunak declared his wife's shares. He did so via a ministerial declaration, as opposed to through the Commons, and he has assured the standards commissioner he will work cooperatively to clear up any outstanding questions. There's no need to doubt Sunak's integrity and ethics.

Predictions