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A police investigation into Angela Rayner is probing multiple allegations against Labour’s deputy leader, it is reported.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has said it is re-examining allegations that Ms Rayner gave false information about her living situation.
But it has been reported that the force’s probe is not limited to potential electoral law offences as the crisis surrounding Ms Rayner deepens.
‘Not a single issue’
At least a dozen GMP officers are investigating the Labour deputy leader over where she had previously lived and the sale of her former council house in Stockport, according to The Times.
It is reported that the police probe is examining possible tax issues as well as whether Ms Rayner gave false information for the electoral register.
Ms Rayner has insisted her main residence was her own home, but neighbours have disputed this and say she lived with her husband about a mile away.
Speaking about the police investigation, a source told The Times: “It’s very well resourced, it’s not a single issue. There is a volume of material and a clear public interest to fully investigate.”
Stephen Watson, GMP chief constable, said there were “a number of assertions knocking about” and “we are going to get to the bottom of what has happened”.
Sources told The Times the investigation was in the public interest and stressed no offences may be identified.
Police could also refer information to partner agencies such as HMRC, they added.
Electoral law probe
Officers are investigating whether Labour’s deputy leader broke electoral law after Tory allegations that she may have given false information about her main residence a decade ago.
Police previously said they would not be investigating the allegations but, following a complaint from Conservative Party deputy chairman James Daly, the force confirmed it had reassessed information and launched a probe.
Ms Rayner was registered at an ex-council house she bought in Stockport, but it is understood Mr Daly, the MP for Bury North, has suggested neighbours say she lived with her husband at a separate property.
The Labour MP owned the property on Vicarage Road, Stockport, between 2007 and 2015, during which time she was registered to vote there, while her then-partner Mark Rayner owned a property on nearby Lowndes Lane.
Providing false information is an offence under Section 13D of the Representation of the People Act 1983, but the legislation imposes a time limit of a year for bringing any charge.
Tax questions
There have been Tory accusations over Ms Rayner’s living situation and whether she failed to pay capital gains tax on the 2015 sale of her former council house because of confusion over whether it was her principal residence.
Ms Rayner sold the house for £127,500, making a £48,500 profit, after buying it for £79,000 in 2007 at a 25 per cent discount through the right to buy scheme.
The Labour MP would have been exempt from paying capital gains tax if she lived at Vicarage Road.
But if her main residence was her husband’s home on Lowndes Lane she would have owed up to £3,500, according to tax experts.
What has Angela Rayner said?
Ms Rayner has said she will “do the right thing and step down” if she is found to have committed a crime as police investigate claims she may have broken electoral law.
She said she would “welcome the chance” to speak to police and HMRC and insisted she was “completely confident” she had followed the rules at all times.
And she accused the Tory Party of deploying its “playbook” of reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to “distract from their record”.
Ms Rayner said: “I will say as I did before – if I committed a criminal offence, I would of course do the right thing and step down. The British public deserves politicians who know the rules apply to them.
“The questions raised relate to a time before I was an MP and I have set out my family’s circumstances and taken expert tax and legal advice.
“I look forward to setting out the facts with the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the police investigation into Ms Rayner’s living arrangements and said he had “full confidence” in her.
