Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi plays himself in Post Office scandal TV drama

Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has made a surprise appearance in an ITV drama about the Post Office IT scandal.

He plays himself questioning then-Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells in a 2015 Commons committee inquiry into the Horizon computer system.

The drama is being screened this week.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted for false accounting, theft and fraud, on the basis of faulty Horizon information.

Some went to prison. Many were financially ruined. Some have since died.

Mr Zahawi told the BBC he agreed to a “cameo” appearance in Mr Bates vs The Post Office “for free and for any fees to be donated to charity”.

Previously vaccines minister during the Covid pandemic and education secretary, he became chancellor in the final months of Boris Johnson’s government.

He remained in the cabinet under Liz Truss and was made party chairman by Rishi Sunak in October 2022.

But he was sacked by Mr Sunak in January 2023 when Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests found Mr Zahawi had failed to declare an HMRC investigation into his tax affairs when he was appointed chancellor.

He had previously insisted that he acted properly, and that his tax error was “careless and not deliberate”. The BBC understands that he paid around £5m in total, including a penalty, to settle his tax bill.

Mr Zahawi appears in the third episode of the four-part drama, as Ms Vennells answers questions from the Commons business committee about “alleged issues with the Horizon IT system and the mediation scheme set up by the Post Office to address these claims”.

During the exchanges, he describes the Post Office’s handling of the developing situation as “a shambles”. Mr Zahawi was a member of the committee between 2010 and 2015.

It is highly unusual for a sitting MP to appear as his or herself in a drama based on real events.

Former Tory MP James, now Baron, Arbuthnot – a strong supporter of the affected Post Office staff’s campaign for justice – is played in the series by actor Alex Jennings.

Mr Zahawi’s appearance has prompted plenty of comments on social media. One person wrote on X: “They’ve found an actor who looks really, really like him. Well done casting… oh my god it is actually Nadhim Zahawi.”

An ITV spokesperson told RadioTimes.com: “In factual dramas, it is common for real-life figures – journalists, TV personalities and other public figures – to play themselves in small roles as a way of adding further authenticity to the series.

“We have chosen to feature Nadhim Zahawi – who appears in the context of a select committee – for this reason. The television presenter James Naughtie will also feature in the drama for the same reason.”

Meanwhile, campaigning in Surrey where the Liberal Democrats are hoping to win a number of Conservative-held seats at the next general election, party leader Sir Ed Davey said he regretted not asking “tougher questions” of Post Office managers when he was postal affairs minister in the coalition government from 2010 to 2012.

Asked why he refused to meet Alan Bates, the postmaster who led the campaign to expose the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, he said: “It is a national scandal… dreadful and it’s been going on for so long. The Conservative government really needs to sort out the compensation.

“I regret not having asked the Post Office managers even tougher questions than I did.”

Asked why he accepted the Post Office’s assertions at face value, Sir Ed replied: “I asked really tough questions of Post Office managers and indeed the officials. I wish I’d gone further.”

He congratulated Mr Bates for his campaign, he added.