Rishi Sunak has broken the rules three times

What’s going on? Despite repeated promises to clean up the government, a report found that Rishi Sunak broke parliamentary rules when No10 admitted he was being investigated by the Standards Committee.

Following the numerous corruption scandals of Boris Johnson’s government and the chaos of Liz Truss’s first few weeks in office, Sunak said he wanted to put an end to the drama.

In his first speech to Downing Street, he promised “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”.

However, he has since been forced to name several ministers who have been found guilty of intimidation or failing to file accurate tax returns.

Moreover, Sunak himself has been found guilty on several occasions of breaking various parliamentary laws and principles.

Yahoo News UK highlights three instances where Sunak has found himself in trouble for breaking rules while in government.

No. 10 confirms investigation into wife’s investment

On 14 September, the House of Commons Standards Committee found that Sunak had breached the Code of Parliamentary Conduct when No 10 confirmed details of an investigation into his wife Akshata Murty’s financial holdings in a childcare company.

The commission found it was a “minor and unintentional” breach of the rules.

MPs are prohibited from disclosing details of “any investigation conducted by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner unless required to do so by law or the Commissioner gives his consent”.

In this case, Downing Street released a statement to the media setting out details of the investigation.

Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg said: “While there was scope for media speculation when Mr Sunak’s spokesman confirmed to the media that the investigation was into ‘Mr Sunak’s links with a childcare company in which his wife is an investor’, he revealed the details of my investigation.”

The Standards Commission decided not to recommend any sanctions against the prime minister, given the nature of the breach of rules.

Not wearing a seat belt

In January, Sunak was fined by Lancashire Police after he was seen not wearing a seatbelt in a video posted on Instagram to promote equalisation funding.

The prime minister paid the fine and apologised, saying he “deeply regretted” not wearing his seat belt.

Lancashire Police did not disclose the amount of Sunak’s fine, but seatbelt offences usually carry fixed penalty notices of £100, which can rise to £500 if the case goes to court.

The Labour Party criticised him for his “lack of common sense”.

Sunak became the second prime minister in history to be fined by police, after his predecessor Johnson.

Partygate penalty

While still chancellor, Sunak and then-Prime Minister Johnson were fined in April 2022 for breaking COVID-19 rules after it emerged that several illegal gatherings had taken place in Downing Street.

The fine related to an event that took place “on 19 June 2020 in the Cabinet Room… between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.” and in which he participated in “a meeting of at least two people in a closed room,” which was prohibited at the time.

At the time, Sunak said: “I understand that where people hold public office, the rules must be applied rigorously to maintain public trust. I respect the decision that was made and have paid the fine.”

Following the fines, many people did not think the Johnson-Sunak government would survive much longer, but the struggling Prime Minister managed to stay in office until 9 June 2022.