𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Angela Rayner is facing demands to hand back the £17,000 payoff she received for quitting as a Cabinet minister last year after returning to her old job. Andy Burnham reappointed Ms Rayner as Housing Secretary after she was cleared by HMRC over her tax affairs.

Her comeback comes around 10 months after she was forced to resign in a row over failing to pay £40,000 stamp duty on a new seaside apartment. Ms Rayner received a £16,876 golden handshake when she left the department in September last year.

But the Tories are calling on the Ashton-under-Lyne MP to give back the eye-watering sum.

Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly told the Daily Mail: “Angela Rayner crusaded against tax avoidance, then avoided tax on her home, tried to cover it up and was forced to resign in disgrace.

“She pocketed a £17,000 reward courtesy of the taxpayer, and now she’s got her old job back courtesy of her mate Andy Burnham, who wants to hike taxes on the family home for everyone else. Rayner should hand back the cash.

“Her reappointment just confirms that there is one rule for Labour, and another for everyone else.”

Ms Rayner confirmed in May that she was cleared of wrongdoing by HMRC in the saga over her tax affairs and had settled the £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty.

A source close to Ms Rayner highlighted how Tory leader Kemi Badenoch received a £7,920 severance payment when she quit Boris Johnson’s government in July 2022.

She returned to the Cabinet two months later when she was appointed by Mr Johnson’s successor Liz Truss.