Rishi Sunak’s ethics adviser says ‘never say never’ to investigating PM

Sir Laurie Magnus defends his powers and says would have to be ‘very good reason’ for PM to reject probe

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Justin Tallis/PA) (PA Wire)

Rishi Sunak’s ethics adviser has said “you can never say never” to the idea of investigating the prime minister should serious allegations about conduct arise.

Sir Laurie Magnus told MPs that while he required the PM’s permission to mount an inquiry into alleged violations of the ministerial code, he believed it would only be withheld if there was a “very, very good reason”.

He told MPs on Thursday: “Very importantly, I have the ability to recommend to the prime minister that there should be an investigation. One would normally expect that he would agree to that unless there was a public interest reason for not doing that.”