We'll shortly be pausing our live coverage from this morning's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, here's a quick rundown of the show:

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly agreed ministers should have an enhanced duty of transparency but does think it's up to Nadhim Zahawi what he chooses to make public.

He also added that he had "no doubt" BBC chairman Richard Sharp was appointed on merit after a recent report he helped then prime minister Boris Johnson secure a loan guarantee.

Nicola Sturgeon told Laura the Scottish government will do everything to defend the gender recognition bill, which the UK government blocked.

The Conservatives were criticised by the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves after recent scandals saying Labour would "drain the swamp".

And we also heard who our panel, which included self-proclaimed "old rocker" Iain Duncan-Smith would like to see playing the coronation of King Charles. The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Tom Jones were all mentioned.

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Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has defended the appointment of Richard Sharp as BBC chairman saying he is an "incredibly accomplished, incredibly successful individual" and he has "absolutely no doubt he was appointed on merit."

It follows a report in The Sunday Times, external that claims Richard Sharp was involved in arranging a guarantor on a loan of up to £800,000 for former PM Boris Johnson before getting hs job.

Asked earlier by Laura Kuenssberg what he would say to viewers who think this looks like Johnson doing favours for his friends, Cleverly said there "may be the perception of that going on" and "of course perception matters," but that he will "judge him on the facts I know for certain" and that Sharp has "huge experience" delivering at the top for large organisations.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves was also on the programme and said that if Labour were in government they would "clean up the mess and drain the swamp".

Her comments come after various reports about members of the Conservative party.

These include allegations that the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab bullied colleagues, reports that former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi avoided paying tax and a recent claim from The Times newspaper that former prime minister Boris Johnson got help from BBC chairman Richard Sharp in securing a loan guarantee.

We also heard from Nicola Sturgeon earlier, who says she's got "plenty in the tank" to continue as the first minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP.

During the programme, Sturgeon praised New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern for her "courage" to stand down when she realised she didn't want to carry on in her job.

Earlier this week, Ardern announced that she will be standing down as New Zealand's leader. Saying she was suffering from 'burnout' and that she no longer has "enough in the tank" to continue.

In case you missed anything, here's a quick round-up of what we heard from the guests on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Discussing questions over Tory Chariman Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said it was up to Zahawi what he chooses to make public, though agreed that ministers have an "enhanced duty of transparency".

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he didn't believe Zahawi was deceitful "in any way", but that he should "get it all out now".

Cleverly also said he had "no doubt" that BBC Chairman Richard Sharp, who is alleged to have helped Boris Johnson secure a large loan just weeks before the then-prime minister recommended him for the job, was appointed on merit.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government will do "everything" to defend its controversial gender recognition bill, which was blocked last week by the UK government.

She said that concerns about giving predatory men access to women's spaces were "very real" but that the bill doesn't give such a man "any more ability to abuse women" than he already has.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves criticised the Conservatives for a series of recent scandals and said that a Labour government would "drain the swamp".

"It's going to take an incoming Labour government to clean up this mess," she said.

She also called for the energy prices cap of £2,500 to be extended by three months and for an expansion to the windfall tax on profits being made by energy firms.

"[Their current profits] are windfalls of war," she said. "And it's right to capture that."

Earlier we heard from Boris Johnson's sister Rachel, who's a presenter on radio station LBC. She says she didn't know about claims that her brother had help from Richard Sharp to get a loan facility.

She told Laura she had "no prior or privy knowledge of my brother's financial affairs".

She adds that the first she knew about it was when the Sunday Times newspaper claimed that Sharp helped the former prime minister secure the £800,00 loan facility, shortly before he was appointed as chairman of the BBC.

"All the parties involved have given statements to The Sunday Times, which suggest they did everything above board and everything was transparent.

"I suggest you ask Simon Case [the Cabinet Secretary], who seems to be the linchpin in both these stories, to come on and say what happened."

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Image source, PA Media

What was also fascinating was Tesco chairman John Allan's suggestion that a minority of firms have been taking advantage of customers during this cost of living crisis.

He said some had been going over the top with their suggested price increases and supermarkets like Tesco had been engaged in pretty hard conversations trying to barter them down.

His comments are likely to add to accusations of profiteering at a time when so many consumers feel hard up.

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

Image source, UK Government

By his own admission, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly didn't have all the answers about his cabinet colleague Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs, but that doesn't mean for a second that the questions will go away.

He told us he hadn't discussed the details of the ongoing mess about his tax affairs with him, or the prime minister, so couldn't really add to anything that we already knew - even saying that he'd been busy with his job and going shopping - suggesting he hadn't had time to find out more.

The problem is, when ministers go out to "dead bat" a story, as ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith describes it, that can create even more smoke and increase the opposition's determination to get to the bottom of whatever the mess is.

Nor did Cleverly have any more answers about the story around Boris Johnson's reported links to current BBC chairman Richard Sharp.

It was interesting that Boris Johnson's sister Rachel suggested the real questions in this matter are for Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

It's hard to tell right now where this story will end up. But safe to say that they are both headaches that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could do without.

Laura Kuenssberg's Sunday show has finished - but stay with us as we bring you more analysis on this week's programme.

Earlier, the conversation moved on to who the panel would like to see play the concert to celebrate the coronation of King Charles. Just before we came off air Laura asked John Allan who he wants to see on the bill?

And who did the Tesco chairman pick?

Tom Jones.

Closing the show, the panel discuss the outlook for the British economy and what needs to be done to generate growth.

Asked about the decision of senior Labour figures to attend the Davos summit, John Allan says "it's absolutely right that [Labour] are reaching out to business wherever it is".

"I wish the government would do the same," he says. "I don't see the engagement with business that's needed. I think a future economic growth plan needs to be bought into both by business and by government."

Iain Duncan-Smith agrees. "The big thing now we have to do is to lift out heads up and explain to people where we're going to go to get growth," he says.

Asked whether she's optimistic about the British economy, Rachel Johnson criticises the government for pledging to scrap a raft of EU legislation "just for the sake of it".

Reeves is asked about her visit with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, to Davos for the World Economic Forum, suggesting some may wince at Labour members attending.

Under the Tory government "exports have been hit, growth is on the floor," says Reeves

"We want investment... and Davos is a great opportunity to meet global leaders, as well as meeting international investors and British business" to encourage investment in the UK.

She says the US and EU are focused on electric vehicles - but Shapps has been carping on the sidelines rather than looking at oppportunity.

The shadow chancellor says she is determined to look at investment iniatives and keep Britain's hand in.

Reeves is asked how many times Labour can use windfall taxes on energy companies to pay for their plans.

Labour has pledged to expand existing windfall taxes on the profits made over by the energy giants amid the rise in prices caused by the war in Ukraine.

Some companies, including Shell, have said the taxes could impact their level of investment in the UK.

"[Their current profits] are windfalls of war," says Reeves. "Those profits are being enjoyed because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"And it's right to capture that. It's not because of the ingenuity of the firm's that they've enjoyed those profits."

Next up, energy bills...

How long would Labour keep supporting people? asks Kuenssberg - as the government seeks to reduce its level of support this Spring.

Rachel Reeves says her party is focused on how to stop bills going up in April, "most just don't have the money" to afford the rise at present, she argues.

She proposes expanding the windfall tax, which she believes would create a further £13bn - and using that money to support people, particularly those on pre-payment meters

Some of the most vulnerable are being cut off and this is "totally unacceptable", says Reeves.

But wouldn't you have to limit energy funding, persists Laura?

Reeves says they want a further three months on the cap of £2,500 - and that hopefully energy prices will come down over that period.

Next up is shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves . She's asked whether all politicians should publish their tax returns and says she'd be "very relaxed about that"

"We've got a situation now in the Conservative Party where you've got the chairman, who used to be the chancellor, who it looks like has been fined a million pounds or more for not paying his taxes," she says.

She adds that the deputy prime minister is also being investigated over bullying claims. Dominic Raab has denied any wrongdoing

"And you've got a prime minister who is too weak to do anything about it," says Reeves. "It's going to take an incoming Labour government to clean up this mess, drain the swamp, because frankly it stinks".

Sturgeon says there's "plenty left in the tank" and that she hopes to be the leader who takes Scotland to independence.

It comes after New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she had decided to stand down, saying she no longer had "enough in the tank to do [the job] justice".

Asked about the news, Sturgeon says: "If I ever reach the point that she has clearly reached, where I think overall I just can't give the job everything it deserves, then I hope I have the same courage she’s had in saying, 'Okay, this is the point to go'".

She added that she hoped it would be her who led Scotland to independence, but that she cared more that the country "completes [that] journey" than whether she is still in office when it does.

Image source, Reuters

Sturgeon says the Scottish government will do "everything" to defend a controversial bill designed to make it easier for people to change their legal gender.

The UK government said last week it would block the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, citing its potential impact on protections contained in UK-wide equalities law.

Asked whether she would seek a judicial review of the move, Sturgeon says: "I’ve already said we will do everything to stand up for and defend the legislation."

She added that the UK government was wrong to say the bill would impact equalities law, claiming it was supported by most of the major women's organisations in Scotland.

"The fear that women have about predatory men accessing women only spaces to abuse and attack women is very real," she said. "But this bill does not give a predatory man any more ability to abuse women than that predatory man already has."

Kuenssberg moves on to the health service, asking is the NHS in Scotland in crisis?

"Yes", says Sturgeon -"I think for some patients who are waiting too long for treatment, that’s how it will feel right now"

She believes the "vast majority" of patients receive timely and excellent care, "but recently too many patients have not had that".

The first minister says waiting times are falling as some winter pressure eases - but this is challenged by Kuenssberg who says the situation has only got worse in the 16 years since the Scottish National Party took charge with "roughly the same number of people are having to wait 12 hours in A&E now as did in 2016".

Sturgeon says much has improved - saying there was a fall in waiting times prior to 2020 , but cites the "significant pressure" caused by the pandemic.

"Nobody should have to wait 12 hours in an accident and emergency and the vast majority of people don’t wait anywhere near that," she concludes.

Laura begins her interview with Nicola Sturgeon with a question about education in Scotland: is it still the first minister's number one priority?

"Yes", says Sturgeon - "because education is the foundation of many national achievements"

Kuenssberg then askes why she's allowing rolling strikes to continue after days of industrial action, and subsequent disruption, for both primary and secondary schools in Scotland?

The first minister says negotiations between teaching unions, the government and local authorities are ongoing, stressing that teachers in Scotland are "the best paid on average in the UK".

But she says she wants fairness across all jobs in schools and argues the same percentage increase has been offered to teachers as to dinner staff and janitors.

She says of course she would like to pay teachers more - she would "probably" like to pay all public sector workers more - but argues that pay increase offers have been better in Scotland than in England and much of the proposed industrial action has so far been avoided as a result.

Laura Kuenssberg asks Tesco Chairman John Allan if some of the larger food producers are taking advantage of the poorest in society with unjustified price hikes?

Allan says it is "entirely possible" that food producers are using inflation to push up prices further than necessary - and he cites Tesco's decision to temporarily stop stocking some Heinz products last autumn.

He says that the supermarkets are trying hard to challenge cost increases where they can - and confront those that are not legitimate.

"We are trying hard to mitigate price rises" prompted by the cost of living crisis, he tells Laura, including providing own label alternatives.

On a completely different story - "I'm an old rocker", that's the claim from Iain Duncan Smith when asked who should play the King's coronation in May.

He says says people want to be entertained and would happy to see any of what he calls the old bands, which Kuenssberg suggests means Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones.