FlickrNewly-appointed chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has insisted that Boris Johnson “absolutely” is honest.
It comes after the dramatic resignations of Rishi Sunak as chancellor and Sajid Javid as health secretary on Tuesday evening.
In their resignation letters to the Prime Minister, Sunak and Javid both set out the importance of maintaining standards in office.
They were joined by a number of further resignations from junior ministers, the latest coming on Wednesday morning with Will Quince quitting as minister for children and families.
Quince said that he had been left with “no choice” to resign after he received briefings from Number 10 ahead of appearing in the media on Monday which later turned out to be inaccurate.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Zahawi gave his backing to the Prime Minister.
Asked if he thinks that Johnson is honest, he said: “Yes, I do, because I’ve worked with him when we delivered the vaccine programme.
“He wanted us to publish that daily data, be transparent to show people where we’re not getting the vaccine through.”
The Chancellor added: “This Prime Minister believes in transparency, that’s how you reform public services and deliver for the country.”
Pressed on whether Johnson is ‘100% honest’, Zahawi responded: “Absolutely and to the best of his knowledge, he came to Parliament and explained what happened in Downing Street during lockdown.
“And of course yesterday, came out and actually apologised and said I made a mistake on Chris Pincher.
“I think that’s the right thing to do, that is leadership.”
The chancellor also set out the tax cuts being rolled out by the government as part of moves to help tackle the cost of living.
“When you make a mistake, you should apologise,” Zahawi said regarding the appointment of Chris Pincher by the Prime Minister, which Johnson acknowledged had been an error.
“That’s grown-up government, that’s how we should be delivering outcomes for people.
“They need that additional help today because inflation is high and this personal tax cut, the biggest in a decade, is the right thing to do.
“£330 for 30 million people, that’s I think what delivery’s about and they can judge us in the next half of this parliament on our delivery.
“And that will be the determining outcome in the next general election.”
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