James Cleverly defends Nadhim Zahawi over tax affair claims

Foreign secretary James Cleverly has defended Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi, over claims that he tried to avoid tax and had to pay it back.

Mr Cleverly's comments come after reports that Mr Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC as part of a multi-million pound tax settlement.

In a statement Mr Zahawi said an error in his tax affairs was accepted by HMRC as having been "careless and not deliberate".

Labour has called for Mr Zahawi to publish all correspondence with HMRC "so we can get the full picture".