Rishi Sunak: UK's first Indian origin PM and controversy's favourite child

Rishi Sunak is set to become UK's first Indian-origin Prime Minister after former PM Boris Johnson pulled out of the leadership race in surprise Sunday move. The British Conservative leader's next challenger, Penny Mordaunt, is far from securing the crucial backing required to contest to replace outgoing PM Liz Truss.

Candidates are required to secure the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 1300 GMT or 6:30 PM IST. Sunak crossed that threshold by Friday night and has amassed nearly 150 public nominations from Tory lawmakers.

Here's taking a look at some controversies that have marred Sunak.

Wife's Non-Domicile Status

In early 2022, it was reported that his wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy paid 30,000 pounds a year to maintain her non-domicile status, which made her not liable for the UK's tax laws on foreign income. She had to give up her non-domicile status after public outrage.

Sunak's tax affairs

Meanwhile, Sunak himself faced questions about his own tax affairs, as well as his commitment to the UK, after it emerged he had held onto US green card status well into his tenure as Chancellor.

Russian 'Blood Money'

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sunak had urged British firms to stop investing in the country while praising companies like Shell and BP for pulling out.

Sunak's wife was accused of collecting "blood money" in dividends from Infosys, which refused to stop operations in Russia.

"Every company has the choice to make, you can run the business as usual and make your money, but you have to live with the fact it's bloody money, and bloody trade," Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko had said, as quoted by The Guardian.

'No Working Class Friends'

Sunak's statement from a clip in a BBC documentary series called 'Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl', were he talks about his friends drew backlash from across the country.

In the clipping from 2001, a 21-year-old Sunak talked about his friends and said, "I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper-class, I have friends who are, you know, working class."

"Well, not working class," he quickly corrected himself.

Proclaiming to be a man of the people, this clip drew Sunak backlash from across the country.

Bread Controversy

Sunak on the BBC Breakfast show raised his concerns about the rising price of bread in the UK. When the presenter asked him what kind of bread did he prefer, Sunak said, "It's a Hovis kind of seeded thing. We have a whole range of different - we all have different breads in my house, a degree of healthiness between my wife, myself and my kids."

Responding to the widely publicised clip, the shadow food secretary Jim McMahon said, "Maybe if the Chancellor was struggling to afford a single loaf of bread like so many families are, he would have offered support to families yesterday.

"Instead, it appears the 'continental breakfast' Chancellor doesn't understand the Tory cost of living crisis he's presiding over."

Published on: Monday, October 24, 2022, 04:13 PM IST