Angela Rayner should dodge council house tax probe because she is northern & in opposition, suggests David Lammy
ANGELA Rayner should dodge scrutiny because she is northern and not in government, a leading Labour figure has suggested.
David Lammy was tied in knots after the row over whether Labour deputy leader lied to authorities about where she lived deepened.
After weeks of denials, historic pics and tweets show Rayner calling the house she said she did not live in her "home" - along with a slew of selfies from her husband's house.
But she was legally registered to a different house a mile away - and has faced questions over her tax bill and whether she lied on the electoral register, which is a criminal offence.
Since questions were first raised, Rayner has also denied living at her husband's house - where her brother was also legally registered as living.
Hitting back at charges of hypocrisy after Rayner demanded ministers publish their tax details, Lammy told Sky News there should be different rules for government and opposition.
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Presenter Trevor Philips said: "If she’s had this advice, why doesn’t she publish it?" adding: "A year ago she complained that Mr Sunak had published his tax returns as Labour demanded 'only after much delay'.
"On Thursday she said 'You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.' He did, why doesn’t she just get on with it and publish the advice if she’s had it?"
Lammy hit back: "Look, I think there’s a different arrangement and expectation for the Prime Minister than there is in this context – we’re not yet in government."
He later told the BBC: “Why do we land on this northern woman who had an arrangement with her husband, a blended family, why do we focus on her and say that she should be the exception?
“She shouldn’t be the exception. She hasn’t broken any rules.
“This is because of the May elections and the Tories not wanting to concentrate on their actions."
This afternoon the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, James Daly MP said: “Sir Keir Starmer must show some leadership and open a full, transparent and independent investigation into the Rayner scandal.
“As more evidence that Rayner appears to have lied comes to light, it is increasingly clear that the British people cannot trust Labour’s Deputy Leader.
"She should stop dismissing and distracting and come clean now.";
The Labour deputy leader has been under pressure to prove she does not owe up to £3,000 capital gains tax from the 2015 sale of her right-to-buy home.
She sold it for £127,500, making a £48,500 profit.
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The Labour deputy’s position also came under fire from a leading barrister who said a jury would not buy her story.
Questions rumbled on over whether Ms Rayner should have paid capital gains tax on the profit from the sale of her Stockport property in 2015.
Neighbours dispute her claims it was her main residence - which would have allowed her to avoid the tax - and say she actually lived with her then husband a mile away.
Greater Manchester Police are considering whether to reopen an investigation following concerns she may have also broken electoral law living away from her registered address.
Sir Alistair Graham, ex-chairman of the committee on standards in public life, last night called for a full inquiry.
He told the Mail: “There clearly should be a full police investigation of the allegations.
“And of course if it's found she has breached the law then her political position becomes pretty untenable, particularly as she's continued to deny that she's breached the law in any way.”
Top lawyer Rebecca Butler added that it was “beyond the bounds of credibility” that she was not living with her husband and father of her kids.
She said: “A jury would take a hell of a lot of convincing.”
Ms Rayner continues to deny wrongdoing and says she received tax and legal advice over the sale of the former council home she had bought under the right-to-buy scheme.
Ms Rayner insists she was not liable for tax on the property as it was her primary residence.
But critics point out she married five years earlier and had been spending time at her husband’s property.
Now dozens of social media posts have emerged that show her with her children and cats at her husband’s house during that period.
One was posted with the caption “just got home”, the Mail on Sunday said.
It said she may face a criminal conviction and fine for a false declaration on the electoral roll and under tax rules.
Ms Rayner says she has tax advice which shows she did nothing wrong, but refused to publish it.
Tory MP James Daly told the paper: “These staggering revelations seem to show that Angela Rayner has not been telling the truth.
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“Keir Starmer has said he has full confidence in her, but has refused to consider any evidence.”
A Labour spokesman said: “Angela has always made clear she spent time at her husband’s property when they had children and got married. She was perfectly entitled to do so.”