RAYNER PROBE
Angela Rayner investigated by cops over council house sale after claims she ‘broke law’
Angela Rayner is under scrutiny over claims she may have wrongly avoided capital gains tax on the 2015 sale of her home
ANGELA Rayner is being investigated by cops over claims she may have broken electoral law.
Greater Manchester Police had originally said the Labour Deputy leader would not face an investigation over claims she gave false information about where she was living for the electoral roll.
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But after a complaint by deputy Tory party chairman James Daly they decided to "review the circumstances" and have today announced they have reopened the probe.
A GMP Spokesperson said: “We’re investigating whether any offences have been committed.
"This follows a reassessment of the information provided to us by Mr Daly.”
It is understood Mr Daly made cops aware of neighbours contradicting Ms Rayner's statement that a property, separate from her ex-husband's, was her main residency.
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A Labour spokesperson said: "Angela welcomes the chance to set out the facts with the police. We remain completely confident that Angela has complied with the rules at all times and it’s now appropriate to let the police do its work.”
Ms Rayner is under scrutiny over claims she may have wrongly avoided capital gains tax on the 2015 sale of her home.
Greater Manchester police's investigation is separate and will look into whether she registered the wrong property on the electoral roll.
This is because the question of whether she has broken tax rules would be a matter for the tax office, rather than the police.
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Ms Rayner denies any wrongdoing and has the backing of Labour boss Sir Keir Starmer.
The original accusation was made in an unauthorised biography written by the Tory peer Lord Ashcroft.
Ms Rayner registered the Stockport house, which she bought under the Right to Buy scheme in 2007, as her main address on the electoral roll.
As a result, when she sold the property in 2015 – making a profit of £48,000 – she was not liable to pay capital gains tax on that money.
Angela Rayner refuses to publish legal advice around sale of former council house as claims reassessed by police
But weeks after marrying Mark Rayner in 2010, she had re-registered the births of her two youngest children at his address just over a mile away.
This raised questions over whether she moved in with her husband but did not update her address on the electoral register.
According to HMRC rules, married couples or civil partners can only count one property as their primary residence.
Ms Rayner said she had spoken to tax and legal experts to make sure she did not owe tax but won't publish the advice she received.
Sir Keir said he takes her word for it and that he does not need to see the tax advice, either.
He accused the Tories of "chasing a smear" against her.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told LBC both Sir Keir and Ms Rayner should give a "straight" answer about her tax affairs.
He added: "Keir Starmer still hasn't answered any questions properly about what's going on with Angela, Rayner.
"When it comes to me or my affairs, people are very happy to ask lots of questions, including Angela Rayner herself."
How Rayner's council house row could turn into proper headache for Labour
BY MARTINA BET, Political Correspondent
WORDS matter in politics - because they can come back to bite you.
Angela Rayner once questioned how Boris Johnson could stay on as PM while the Downing Street he led was under police investigation.
Two years on and it is the Labour deputy leader who now faces a cop probe over her council house saga.
And try as they might to dismiss the allegations as a Tory smear story, the row has all the ingredients to turn into a proper headache for the party.
She will now inevitably face the same calls to quit as the ones she so readily levelled during Partygate.
Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly promised to clean up politics. Critics will say Ms Rayner's tax saga undermines that pledge.
Labour says Rayner “welcomes” the chance to settle the matter via the police investigation.
But she and her allies have so far tried every trick in the book to make the story go away - decrying allegations as sexist, classist and even because she is “northern”.
Even yesterday a rattled Starmer berated a journalist for daring to ask him about it.
It may well turn out Rayner is completely innocent - but the scrutiny on Labour is only going to increase as the election looms.
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