Powys resident and former Conservative leader William Hague has ruled himself out of a return to politics amid speculation he could replace Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman.

Mr Zahawi was sacked as chairman of the Conservative Party over the weekend, but now the party's former leader has responded to speculation that he might return to politics as his replacement.

Mr Hague said: “Since I’ve seen reports of people placing bets on me being the new party chairman, please be aware that I will absolutely not be returning to politics in any shape or form, including that one.”

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Mr Hague has been a Powys resident since he moved to Cyfronydd Hall, between Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinion, in 2015.

Mr Zahawi resigned as chairman after an inquiry by the prime minister's ethics adviser found he had failed to disclose that HMRC was investigating his tax affairs.

County Times: Nadhim ZahawiNadhim Zahawi (Image: PA)

The PM said Sir Laurie Magnus's inquiry made clear there had been a "serious breach of the ministerial code".

Sir Laurie found Mr Zahawi had been in contact with HMRC over his taxes since April 2021, reaching an agreement in August 2022 and finalising the settlement in September.

The inquiry concluded that Mr Zahawi hadn't done enough to declare this internally, and had failed to be open enough in public about the matter, breaching the behaviour rules for government ministers.

Prime Minister and current Conservative Party Leader Rishi Sunak agreed with the inquiry, deciding to fire Mr Zahawi over his “serious breach” of the guidelines.

Mr Hague was leader of the Conservative Party from 1997 to 2001 and urged party members to support Mr Sunak’s bid to become Prime Minister in August 2022.