Zahawi and Johnson’s wealthy friends are an image problem for Sunak’s Tories

The PM may struggle to sell solidarity to the public in light of revelations about tax affairs and ministerial access

At the Conservative party conference in 2021, Nadhim Zahawi met a multimillionaire Canadian businessman who had spent his career in the education sector and, sources said, was interested in discussing it with the former education secretary.

It was not an unusual meeting for party conference, where ministers regularly rub shoulders with lobbyists and campaigners in their various patches at events organised by the Tory party and by external groups, as well as in the bars and restaurants of grand hotels.