Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated his commitment to release his tax returns, telling TV host Piers Morgan that he would do so “shortly” after the interview.
Mr. Sunak stated that he was prepared to be “transparent” and publish the documents.
When it was discovered that the Prime Minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, was a non-dom, his financial affairs came under scrutiny last year.
Since then, opposition parties have urged Mr. Sunak to be transparent about his finances.
Last April, Ms Murty’s spokeswoman said she “has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income.”
Mr Sunak first made the promise to publish his tax returns during his unsuccessful campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party last summer.
Since becoming prime minister, he said in December at the G20 summit that he would stand by the pledge, telling reporters he would seek advice and “figure out the right way that happens”.
Mr Sunak is thought to be one of Parliament’s wealthiest members, which Labour has used as an attack line during Prime Minister’s Questions.
While there is not a long tradition of prime ministers publishing their tax returns, some of Mr Sunak’s predecessors have chosen to do so in recent years.
In his interview with Morgan in 10 Downing Street, Mr Sunak said: “They will be published shortly.” As you know, the tax filing deadline was just a few days ago. So that’s why.
“So we do the tax-filing deadlines just passed, so they’re just being prepared and they will be released shortly.”
In another question about his financial affairs, Morgan asked Mr Sunak whether he was benefitting from a financial arrangement known as a blind trust.
Politicians with share portfolios and investments routinely set up blind trusts when they get government jobs. This allows them to continue earning income from their investments without knowing where the money is invested to avoid any conflicts of interest.
On the question of whether it was right for prime ministers to have blind trusts, Mr Sunak said: “I think that’s better than them having control over them.”
The interview covered a wide range of topics, from serious ones about government policy, to light-hearted ones about his love life.
He was asked by Morgan to describe his “doctrine” and assess his first 100 days in office as prime minister.
Mr Sunak said he inherited “a challenging situation” but insisted he was “proud of what we’ve achieved” so far.
One of the most prominent issues of his time in office up to now has been the wave of public sector strikes over pay.
Mr Sunak said nurses should be treated as an “exception” and he would “love to give the nurses a massive pay rise” but insisted he could not, as doing so would stoke the rising cost of living.
Later in the interview, Morgan asked Mr Sunak for his definition of a woman. Mr Sunak replied “adult human female”, but suggested the TV presenter was actually asking about society’s handling of people questioning their gender identity.
Morgan brought up the case of Isla Bryson, a transgender woman convicted of raping two women while known as a man named Adam Graham. She was initially incarcerated in a women’s prison but has since been transferred to a men’s prison.
Morgan said it showed the problem of “limitless gender self-identity”. Mr Sunak said it demonstrated “some of the challenges”, but added “we must and should have enormous compassion and tolerance and understanding for those who are questioning their gender and identity”.
“But we have to recognise the challenges that that poses, particularly for women’s safety,” Mr Sunak said.
“For me… whether it’s sex, whether it’s women’s spaces, whether it’s prisons, biological sex really matters.”
Asked about transgender women athletes competing in women’s sports, he said: “I think that doesn’t strike most people as being fair. That’s why, when it comes to these questions, biological sex matters.”
Also in the interview:
- When Morgan challenged Mr Sunak on hospital car parking charges for nurses in England, he promised: “Of course, I’m happy to look at that.”
- Mr Sunak also pledged to bring in tougher immigration and asylum rules to curb the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats
- Asked why he wanted to become prime minister, he said: “I do ask myself the same question on occasion… there’s a concept in Hinduism called dharma which roughly translates into ‘duty’, and that’s how I was raised”
- Morgan put to him that he was “stinking rich”, and after an awkward pause he replied: “I think most people would consider that I’m financially fortunate, yes”
- He admitted rapping to Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice but swiftly added “we will not do that now”
- He said he was “batting above my average” when it came to his wife and recalled proposing to her while walking along the cliffs in Half Moon Bay in California.