John Allan, Tesco chairman, says issues such as Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs are "hugely distracting".

"The best way of dealing with this is to get it all out in the open," he says. "It's distracting [ministers] and us from the massive issues that this country faces".

Journalist Rachel Johnson adds that it's strange that, given his wealth, Zahawi wouldn't have a "white hot accountant" who would make sure all his taxes are in order.

We're hearing from the panel now, following on from that first interview with James Cleverly.

Cleverly told Laura that people's tax affairs are personal and private - "we keep hearing that we want politicians to be more like the rest of us," he says, why then should the requirements be different for politicians?

Iain Duncan Smith - former Tory leader - describes the story as "complex" and says it is clear Zahawi has not benefited in any way from the tax "confusion".

Cleverly is next asked about the war in Ukraine, and specifically about tanks being given to Kyiv.

"I would like nothing more than to see the Ukrainians equipped with the most up to date tanks."

He's then asked if he's disappointed Germany hasn't provided more tanks.

"Ultimately it's up to governments how they support Ukraine. We will continue working with Nato allies to ensure Ukraine still gets equipment."

You can find out more about the equipment countries are giving to Ukraine here.

Why doesn't Zahawi publish his tax return? It doesn't stack up with promises made by PM on integrity

"We have an enhanced duty of transparency" agrees Cleverly.

But he adds: "The decision as to how much detail to put in the public domain is one for Zahawi to make."

He argues the Tory Party Chairman is up to date on his tax affairs and has had conversations with HMRC to ensure his personal affairs are right and proper

But it's up to him to choose what he makes public.

Cleverly is asked about the issue of Zahawi's tax affairs.

"The point we should remember is that the tax requirement that fell on Nadhim was as a direct result of him being a very successful entrepreneur who built a business from nothing that went on to employ hundreds," he says.

"He has been a real contributor to the British economy."

Asked whether the prime minister knew about the issue when he appointed him Tory party chairman, Cleverley says everyone appointed to government goes "through a due diligence process".

"Nadhim says he had conversations with the Cabinet Office," he says.

"That is their job."

Should Boris Johnson have declared his connection with Richard Sharp in full, asks Kuenssberg.

Of course "perception matters", says Cleverly, but Richard Sharp is accomplished "with an incredibly successful career... and huge experience" justifying his appointment as BBC Chairman.

Cleverly says Richard Sharp is an "incredibly accomplished, incredibly successful individual" who brings a "wealth of experience" to his role.

"I have absolutely no doubt that he was appointed on merit," he says.

He adds that it's not unusual for someone to be politically active before being appointed to a role like chairman of the BBC.

There's a lot to get through this Sunday, and before we hear from Nicola Sturgeon, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is up for the first of today’s political interviews.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith says Nadhim Zahawi needs to come clean over his tax affairs.

He calls the Tory Party chairman a peculiar success story as a former refugee who is now a senior figure in government.

"Get it all out now and clear it out, I don't believe he is deceitful in anyway" he adds

Before we get onto the main interviews, we'll hear from our three panellists - John Allan, chairman of supermarket giant Tesco, journalist and broadcaster Rachel Johnson and Iain Duncan Smith, who led the Conservatives from 2001 to 2003.

Before the first of this week’s main interviews, the panel of Rachel Johnson, John Allan and Iain Duncan Smith are giving Laura Kuenssberg their take on the major issues of the moment.

Then we’ll hear from Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, before returning to our panel who will discuss what he’s said.

All this and more to come in the next hour.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is due up at the top of the hour, and you can watch the programme without leaving this page by clicking on the play button in the picture above. Stay with us for the latest news lines, quotes, and video clips as we follow the show - which features this week Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves.

We’ll also hear from journalist and broadcaster Rachel Johnson, ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Tesco chairman John Allan.

Image source, PA Media

One issue that could come up is around claims the chairman of the BBC helped Boris Johnson secure a loan - weeks before the then-prime minister recommended him for the role.

Labour has called for a parliamentary investigation after the Sunday Times reported that Richard Sharp was involved in arranging a guarantor on a loan of up to £800,000, external for Johnson.

Sharp said he had "simply connected" people and there was no conflict of interest and a spokesman for Johnson says he did not receive financial advice from Sharp.

He also dismissed Labour's suggestion Johnson could have breached the code of conduct for MPs "through failing to appropriately declare the arrangement" on his parliamentary register of interests.

Read the full story here.

Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

You may well wonder why the prime minister forgetting to put his seatbelt on for a few minutes as he recorded a quick video for social media matters at all. We are, after all, meant to be living in a serious country - not an episode of TV satire The Thick of It.

Gaffes are fun for political nerds, attract clicks on the internet and occasionally get that elusive quality of "cut through" when the wider public really notices something a politician does.

Remember Boris Johnson having his coffee cup swiped off him, external because the official edict was never to be spotted with disposable cups for environmental reasons? Or Ed Miliband's approach to eating a bacon sandwich?

The prime minister has accepted he made a mistake but this mess-up is likely to stick with him. First, if you are responsible for making the law, it goes without saying that it's far from ideal to be caught breaking it. His old boss Mr Johnson made history by becoming the first sitting prime minister to have broken the law while in office by flouting lockdown rules.

Image source, Cabinet Office/PA Media

That said, the fine is highly unlikely to be treated as seriously as Boris Johnson's for breaching lockdown rules during the pandemic.

That penalty was part of a long-running fiasco in Downing Street that hit hard because of the public's own agony over lockdown and Mr Johnson's unusual relationship with the truth.

Mr Sunak ended up in No 10 because of how much his personal style contrasted with Mr Johnson's. He is not the kind of leader to bluster through and promise everything would be "world-beating", but wants to under-promise and overdeliver.

A self-inflicted mistake like this directly contradicts his carefully curated personal brand. And at the very least, dealing with it takes up time, political energy and effort.

And, for a party seriously behind in the polls, it ruined a chance to drive the conversation and provided another beautifully wrapped gift for the opposition.

• You can read Laura’s latest piece in full here

Image source, Getty Images#

As mentioned before - there is a big row going on between the Scottish and UK governments over the gender recognition bill.

To catch you up on this issue, and why it has proved to be such a political hot potato - we’ve put together some explainers and analysis pieces:

Firstly - what are the plans for gender reforms in Scotland? In a nutshell, the law wants to simplify and speed up the existing process by which people can obtain a gender recognition certificate - the legal recognition of a trans person's "acquired" gender.

It is, of course, a complicated law, and there are a number of sticking points, such as the impact on UK-wide equality law and the complication of there being different rules on the two sides of the Anglo-Scottish border - which we assess here.

And with the row set to end up in the courts, the BBC’s been looking at the legal arguments about the relative powers of the Scottish and Westminster parliaments which may well be tested before a judge.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

Arguments about gender and arguments about the constitution are as complex as they are keenly fought over.

But the essence of this one is this: the issue of gender is devolved, it is a power that rests in Edinburgh.

The issue of equalities is reserved, to use the jargon, it is a power that rests in London.

The Scottish government insists its planned new law doesn't clash with the Great Britain-wide Equality Act, while the government at Westminster insists it does - and has now set out why it thinks that, external.

That is the crux of the legal and political argument to come, exploring avenues never before travelled since Donald Dewar became first minister in 1999.

We can expect a judicial review, an appointment at the Court of Session in Edinburgh and, quite probably, a final calling point of the UK Supreme Court to sort this out.

In my interview with Nicola Sturgeon, she claimed the UK government's decision amounted to "a direct attack on the institution of the Scottish parliament" and could be the start of a "slippery slope" of interventions from what she described as "an increasingly hostile UK government wanting to undermine devolution".

But, while unprecedented, the UK government is using a lever within the existing law, a law backed by the SNP, albeit a long time ago in the late 90s. And it is, undoubtedly, provocative.

• Read Chris’ analysis of the row here

Nicola Sturgeon has argued for a wider debate on teenagers' rights, as she defended plans to allow 16-year-olds to change their legal sex.

Scotland's first minister said there were inconsistencies in rules on what teenagers could do, and cited the legal drinking age in pubs as an example.

However, she later clarified her comments, saying she did not favour a change in existing drinking rules.

Scotland's gender recognition bill has been blocked by the UK government with Scottish Secretary saying it would have an adverse impact , externalon equalities laws that apply across Scotland, England and Wales - a claim disputed by the Scottish government.

In an interview recorded in Edinburgh for Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sturgeon was questioned about a provision of the bill that would reduce the age at which a person can apply for a gender recognition certificate from 18 to 16.

She was asked why she believed a 16-year-old was old enough to make such a profound decision at an age when they are forbidden from buying a drink in a pub or driving a car. Sturgeon answered: "I used to - when I was growing up and probably sixteen - used to take the view that there should be a single age of consent.

"And I think over time I think it is right to look at, why can't a 16-year-old drink alcohol in a pub. You need to look at the particular circumstances, the physical issues around some of these things."

However, she later tweeted, external that her response was badly phrased, adding: "I meant that there are reasons why you can do some things at 16 and not others. I do not favour a review of the current age rules on alcohol."

Several papers report on preparations for the King's coronation in May, with the Sunday Express saying the monarch wants the occasion to lift the public's mood after the Covid pandemic and cost of living crisis.

The Sunday Telegraph adds that the King wishes the three-day "spectacle" to celebrate the "faces and voices" of modern Britain with "refugees and the NHS" at the heart of a "diverse coronation".

Elsewhere, the Sunday Times leads on a report from the front line in the Ukraine War with the defending forces likening the conflict to World War One.

The paper also reports that BBC Chairman Richard Sharp helped arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 for then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson - weeks before being recommended for the role at the corporation. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

And the Daily Star Sunday reports that young people are dunking samosas in hot beverages instead of the more traditional biscuits.

• You can read our full review of Sunday's papers here

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

As well as the main guests, Laura Kuenssberg is joined by a panel of three key players who bring their own opinions and expertise to bear on the issues of the day and the interviews on the programme.

This week she’s joined by Tesco chairman John Allan, journalist and commentator Rachel Johnson and former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

John Allan has been chairman of supermarket giant Tesco since 2015. After a career in industry with firms such as Associated British Foods and Excel Logistics, he took up the chairmanship of electronics retailer Dixons before being appointed to head the board of Tesco.

Rachel Johnson is an author, journalist and broadcaster on LBC radio and is the sister of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ex-MP and minister Jo Johnson. She was the editor of The Lady for three years and has appeared on shows including Have I Got News For You, Question Time and Celebrity Big Brother.

Iain Duncan Smith led the Conservatives from 2001 to 2003 while in opposition. When the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government was formed in 2010 he was appointed Work and Pensions Secretary - a post he held until 2016. He set up think tank the Centre for Social Justice in 2003.

As we mentioned, throughout January Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg will interview the UK’s main party leaders.

So far we’ve heard from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. Today it’s Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon's turn.

The news this week has been dominated by the UK government’s decision to block the controversial Gender Recognition Bill which aims to make it easier for people in Scotland to change their legally recognised gender.

Ministers in London say the legislation - which was passed by a majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament - could impact on equality laws that apply across Great Britain. To that end, the UK government’s Scottish Secretary Alister Jack moved to formally stop the bill from becoming law.

But that isn’t the end of the matter as far as Sturgeon is concerned, and she has said her government will seek a judicial review of Mr Jack’s decision.

There’s a lot at stake in this row - with Ms Sturgeon accusing Jack of of launching a "direct attack on the institution of the Scottish Parliament". But the Scottish secretary defended the move, saying it was “not about the UK government being able to veto Scottish Parliament legislation whenever it chooses”.

As well as Nicola Sturgeon this week’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg will also hear from Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

We’ll hear more from all three after 9am.