Lawyer fined for attempt to restrict story of Nadhim Zahawi’s taxes

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has fined a lawyer £50k after he attempted to restrict a story regarding Nadhim Zahawi’s controversial tax affairs.

The former chancellor and Stratford-upon-Avon MP first came under fire in July 2022, as his shares in polling firm YouGov were held offshore.

Six months later, it was reported that Zahawi had to pay HMRC a seven-figure settlement and a similar tax penalty. His failure to declare the investigation by HMRC led to Zahawi being sacked as the Tory party chair.

Dan Neidle, the founder of the thinktank Tax Policy Associates and former Clifford Chance partner, had been in communication with Ashley Hurst, a litigation partner and head of client strategy at Osborne Clarke, who was acting on behalf of Zahawi.

Hurst was accused of attempting to silence Neidle from publishing or discussing correspondence between the pair regarding an article and Twitter thread Neidle had written about Zahawi’s tax affairs.

David Price KC, for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, said the context of the email was “a senior politician threatening a defamation claim”.

On Friday (December 20), the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) ordered Hurst to pay a £50k fine and costs of £260k for the misconduct.

Writing on X, Neidle said: “The idea that a lawyer can send a libel threat to someone, and require them never to tell anyone about it, is both dangerous and absurd. The SDT reached the right decision.”

A spokesperson for Osborne Clarke told The Guardian: “We are extremely surprised and disappointed with this outcome in light of the legal position and evidence heard at the tribunal. We will await the detailed reasons of the tribunal before commenting further.”