Former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has made a shocking admission about his past, revealing that he used to be involved in football hooliganism and would actively seek out fights. The 57-year-old politician, who previously served under Boris Johnson, disclosed that he was once a member of Liverpool Football Club’s firm when he was younger. Speaking at the Henley Literary Festival, an event associated with The Independent, Zahawi confessed, “I was part of Liverpool’s firm and would go out looking for fights as a football hooligan.”
He recounted a particular incident where he was involved in a clash with Southampton fans that resulted in a police horse charging at him, slamming him into a store front on Seven Sisters Road in London. Zahawi, who was elected as the Conservative MP for Stratford-upon-Avon in May 2010, went on to hold positions as a business minister and Chancellor under Boris Johnson’s government.
Zahawi also opened up about his childhood journey from Iraq to England at the age of 11, fleeing from Saddam Hussein’s regime with his family. While reflecting on his time in government, he expressed discomfort with some of the language used around immigration. Despite this, he emphasized the need for the UK to engage in challenging conversations about immigration to combat the rise of racism in society.
In a turn of events related to his professional life, Zahawi was dismissed as Tory party chairman in 2023 by ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak due to investigations concerning his tax affairs. The Independent originally reported the HMRC investigation into Zahawi’s taxes, prompting him to apologise in May 2024 for his handling of the situation. He acknowledged settling the case with the taxman for £5m, a fact he had previously denied.
The investigation arose from The Independent’s coverage and Zahawi’s attempts to prevent the publication from divulging details by threatening legal action. Despite his assurances at the time that he had met all tax obligations, The Independent proceeded to publish reports disclosing inquiries by the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency, and HMRC. Zahawi refrained from suing and eventually paid over £1m in penalties as part of a settlement amounting to nearly £5m.
In a damning assessment, the Prime Minister’s advisor, Sir Laurie Magnus, found that Zahawi had breached ministerial rules on multiple occasions by failing to disclose information and making false public statements during the tax controversy. Nadhim Zahawi’s revelations about his turbulent past and professional challenges have stirred controversy and put his political career under scrutiny.