2 2GM Saturday April 9 2022 | the times
News
authorities in October last year, on his
first official visit as chancellor.
Murty can still save her family a fortune
in taxation, pages 4-
Envy shouldn’t bar Sunak from No 10,
Matthew Parris, page 27he held a US green card, granting him
permanent residency in the country,
for nearly two years after becoming
chancellor. He said that “it was consid-
ered best to return” the permanent resi-
dency status after discussions with USCovid-19 infections may have finally
peaked in Britain although cases
remain close to record levels, latest
figures show.
The weekly infection survey by the
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
estimated that 4.88 million people in
the UK had the virus last week, down
from 4.91 million the previous week.
The figures were published after
Boris Johnson refused to rule out
imposing another national lockdown if
a more deadly Covid variant emerges.
The prime minister said that it would
be “irresponsible” to pledge he would
never again introduce tough
restrictions as the option must be
available to save lives.
The ONS infection survey, based on
random swab testing of 100,000 people,
is regarded by experts as the most
reliable measure of the level of cases.
Although infections in England are
still at a record high with one in 13
infected, the marked increase in cases
seen since mid-February has levelled
off. The finding that infections are
plateauing will relieve hospital staff
who are struggling to cope with
surging admissions and absences
among colleagues.
Sarah Crofts, of the ONS, said:
“While infections remain high, there
are early signs in our latest data that
they may no longer be increasing in
some parts of the UK.
“It is too early to say if infections have
peaked in England and Scotland. We
will continue to monitor the data.”
Speaking to the Conservative MPs
Esther McVey and Philip Davies for
GB News, Johnson said: “I want to
avoid any such [measures] ever hap-PM keeps lockdowns up his
sleeve as Covid cases level off
Eleanor Hayward
Health Correspondentpening again and I can’t rule out some-
thing. I can’t say we wouldn’t be forced
to do non-pharmaceutical interven-
tions again of the kind we did.
“It would be irresponsible of any
leader in any democracy to say that
they’re going to rule out something that
can save lives. I believe the things we
did saved lives. I’ve got to be absolutely
frank with you, there could be a new
variant more deadly, there could be a
variant that affects children, that we
really need to contain, I’m not going to
take any options off the table. But I
don’t think it will happen.
“We’re now in the phase where the
virus is losing its potency overall and
we’ve got a massively vaccinated UK
population.”
Ministers were said to be encouraged
by the apparent peak in cases. They
believe that the school Easter holidays
combined with warmer weather mean
that infections will continue to fall.
In another positive sign, daily
hospital admissions are also levelling
off after increasing rapidly over the past
month. The number of patients in UK
hospitals with Covid fell slightly yester-
day, to 20,331, with only 357 of them in
intensive care.
Professor Kevin McConway, of the
Open University, said that it was a
positive sign that cases in the ONS
survey had stopped increasing for the
first time in weeks. However, he warned
that there is “still a very high rate” of
people testing positive and seven-day
trends in hospital admissions and
deaths are up too. “All this sickness
can’t be good for the economy.
Learning to live with Covid doesn’t
mean paying no attention to it,” he said.
Covid chaos at airports, page 21
These days no one cares if you’ve got
Covid, Aasmah Mir, page 27The national picture
How many people have Covid-19?
There were 41,384 new cases reported
yesterday, bringing the cumulative total to
21,549,830 or 322.6 for every 1,000 peopleOct Jan
2021Apr Jul Oct Jan
2022Apr050,100,150,200,36.8% decrease from seven days ago
(based on seven-day moving average)How many are in hospital?
There are 20,331 patients in hospital being
treated. 357 patients are on ventilators. An
additional 2,406 patients have been
admitted, up 0.3 per cent in seven days to
April 4 when this data was last updatedHow many have died?
Yesterday there were 347 deaths reported,
bringing the total number of deaths in the
past seven days to 1,475. The rolling average
number of daily deaths is 210.7, up from 159.
a day a week agoSeven-day
averageDaily casesHospital admissions05001,1,Oct Jan
2021Apr Jul Oct Jan Apr
2022DeathsNational
R number
1.1 to 1.Oct Jan
2021Apr Jul Oct Jan
2022Apr01,2,3,4,
Seven-day
averageSeven-day
average“outstanding” chancellor yesterday but
declined to directly defend Murty’s
non-domicile tax arrangements, saying
only that he did not “think people’s
families should be dragged into this”.
He also admitted that Sunak had not
told him about the tax arrangements.
But he rejected claims from the chan-
cellor’s allies that details about Murty’s
tax affairs had been leaked by someone
in No 10. “If there are such briefings
they are certainly not coming from us
in No 10,” he said.
Murty said that until now she had
attempted to keep her affairs and her
husband’s career “entirely separate”.
The pair met at Stanford University
in California and have a home in Santa
Monica. They came to the UK in 2013
so Sunak could pursue politics.
She said: “When I met him we were
24-year-old business school students,
living in another country, and had no
idea of where life would take us.
“He has never asked me to abandon
my Indian citizenship, ties to India or
my business affairs, despite the ways in
which such a move would have simpli-
fied things for him politically.
“My decision to pay UK tax on all my
worldwide income will not change the
fact that India remains the country of
my birth, citizenship, parents’ home
and place of domicile. But I love the UK
too.” Murty had suggested on Wednes-
day night that she was unable to pay UK
tax because she was an Indian citizen.
Tax experts disputed her claim and
pointed out that claiming the remit-
tance for non-domicile status was a
matter of personal choice, requiring her
to tick a box on a HMRC form.
Sunak also admitted yesterday thatMurty’s statement
Since arriving in the UK,
I have been made to
feel more welcome than
I ever could have
imagined, in both
London and our home
in North Yorkshire. This
is a wonderful country.
In recent days, people
have asked questions
about my tax
arrangements: to be
clear, I have paid tax in
this country on my UK
income and
international tax on my
international income.
This arrangement is
entirely legal and how
many non-domiciled
people are taxed in the
UK. But it has become
clear that many do not
feel it is compatible with
my husband’s role as
chancellor. I understand
and appreciate the
British sense of fairness
and I do not wish my
tax status to be a
distraction for my
husband or to affect my
family.
For this reason, I will
no longer be claimingthe remittance basis for
tax. This means I will
now pay UK tax on an
arising basis on all my
worldwide income,
including dividends and
capital gains, wherever
in the world that
income arises. I do this
because I want to, not
because the rules
require me to. These
new arrangements will
begin immediately and
will also be applied to
the tax year just
finished (2021-22).
Until now, I have tried
to keep my professional
life and my husband’s
political career entirely
separate. Since Rishi
entered parliament, he
has not involved himself
in my business affairs
and I have left politics
to him. When I met him
we were 24-year-old
business school
students, living in
another country, and
had no idea of where
life would take us. Rishi
has always respected
the fact that I am Indianand as proud of my
country as he is of his.
He has never asked me
to abandon my Indian
citizenship, ties to India
or my business affairs,
despite the ways in
which such a move
would have simplified
things for him
politically. He knows
that my longstanding
shareholding in Infosys
is not just a financial
investment but also
testament to my
father’s work, of which I
am incredibly proud.
My decision to pay
UK tax on all my
worldwide income will
not change the fact that
India remains the
country of my birth,
citizenship, parents’
home and place of
domicile. But I love the
UK too. In my time here
I have invested in British
businesses and
supported British
causes. My daughters
are British. They are
growing up in the UK. I
am so proud to be here.continued from page 1
Sunak’s wife will pay UK taxesIf a section of your Times is missing, please call 020-7711 1525 or e-mail
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THE WEATHER
3211148
11
111097Most places will stay dry with sunny
spells, but a few showers in north
and east. Full forecast, page 77
Tourists facing
more delays
High sickness rates
among border officials
have led to warnings
that Britons returning
from Easter breaks in
the next week will face
delays getting into the
country. Page 21Andrew ‘wants
to be of service’New drug kills
cancer cells
A drug that redirects
the immune system to
kill diseased cells may
offer hope to patients
who have run out of
options, according to
the Institute of Cancer
Research. Page 6
Guardiola hints
at longer stay
Pep Guardiola, the
Manchester City
manager, has spoken
for the first time about
the possibility of
extending his contract
beyond the end of next
season. Sport, pulloutSouth Korea
‘needs US arms’
The president-elect of
South Korea is
pressing the US to
deploy weapons such
as nuclear warheads
in the country for the
first time since the
Cold War. Page 42
FOLLOW US
thetimes timesandsundaytimes thetimesThe Duke of York still
harbours ambitions of
a public role and wants
to “be of service”,
sources have claimed,
despite palace insiders
insisting there can be
no return. Page 18COMMENT 27
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