BORIS Johnson has given the go-ahead for an investigation into Rishi Sunak’s declarations by his ministerial standards watchdog.

The Prime Minister agreed for Lord Geidt, the independent advisor on ministerial interests, to investigate the Chancellor after he requested it in a letter yesterday.

Mr Sunak has come under fire after it emerged his wife held non-domicile status and so was not liable to pay taxes on her overseas earnings in the UK.

It was also confirmed that the Chancellor held a US Green card until last year.

The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said that he had now given permission for Lord Geidt to proceed with the investigation after it was requested by the Chancellor.

She said: “The PM has agreed to the request and has asked Lord Geidt to take this forward.

“You will get the update from Lord Geidt once he has completed that work.”

In his letter to the PM requesting a review, Mr Sunak said: “My overriding concern is that the public retain confidence in the answers that are given and I believe the best way of achieving this is to ensure those answers are entirely independent, without bias or favour,” he said.

“I am confident that such a review of my declarations will find all relevant information was appropriately declared.

“I have throughout my ministerial career followed the advice of officials regarding matters or propriety and disclosure and will continue to do so.”

This morning Environment Secretary George Eustice faced questions about the saga, but insisted the Chancellor had been “very candid”.

He told Sky News: “Rishi Sunak and his wife have spoken for themselves on this. I’m not his accountant, I’m not responsible, obviously, for his tax affairs or those indeed of his wife.

“She gave a statement over the weekend, she’s now made clear that although she hasn’t done anything wrong, she’s a citizen of India and grew up and was born in India, has some income from that, nevertheless she’s changing her tax arrangements so that she would pay the tax on that income here in the UK.”

Mr Sunak had been “very clear that he’s been very candid about his own arrangements at every stage”, he added.

Mr Eustice rejected suggestions that Mr Sunak was “too rich” to be a chancellor or potential prime minister.

“I don’t think it’s right that we should have a rule that says you’re too wealthy to be able to do a role – what matters is the knowledge, the technical expertise that you have,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“You can’t walk a mile in everyone’s shoes, all of us have different perspectives, different experiences in life, and for any MP, let alone minister, the single most important thing is an ability to empathise (with) people who might have had experiences and challenges in their life that you’ve personally not experienced.”