𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Labour reportedly paid for a specialist tax lawyer to examine Angela Rayner’s finances in the run-up to her resignation as Deputy Prime Minister last year. Leading barrister Jonathan Peacock KC was commissioned to assess whether Ms Rayner had correctly paid stamp duty on the purchase of a flat in Hove, according to reports.

He reportedly spent up to 5 days reviewing her financial position and provided both preliminary and final legal advice on the purchase of the £700,000 property. It has now emerged that the bill for the work was settled by Labour’s central office, with legal experts speculating that the advice from a leading King’s Counsel could have cost tens of thousands of pounds. The revelation has prompted criticism from senior Labour figures, who argue the expenditure was difficult to justify at a time when the party was struggling with fundraising and grappling with a £3.8 million deficit following the General Election.

Some insiders suggest the renewed focus on the issue reflects attempts by Ms Rayner’s internal critics to damage her standing amid talk of a potential leadership challenge in May, according to the Times.

Ms Rayner resigned from Government after Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser found she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on a seaside flat.

Sir Laurie Magnus said the former Deputy Prime Minister had “acted with integrity”, but failed to “heed the caution” contained within legal advice she received when buying the £800,000 property in Hove.

Ms Rayner had referred herself to the standards watchdog for investigation after she admitted she had paid as much as £40,000 less surcharge than she should have done on the purchase in May.

She said she made a mistake based on legal advice she received at the time, before consulting a leading counsel, who found she was liable to pay a higher stamp duty rate, following headlines about her tax affairs.

Dan Neidle, a tax expert, told the Times that the bill could easily have run to tens of thousands of pounds. He said advice on a straightforward tax issue would cost about £4,000, “about as cheap a consultation with a leading tax KC as one can imagine”.

He said: “If there was something more complex going on, then it could be a lot more. A whole morning’s consultation with complex papers could be £20,000. Sometimes more.”

One source told the Times: “I’m amazed party money was spent trying to protect Angela, given her hefty salary.

“We need to understand why the party thought it a good idea to spend membership fees and trade union donations on expensive lawyers, when this had nothing to do with Angela’s role as deputy leader.”

Ms Rayner has made an increasing number of interventions since the start of the year, most recently urging the government not to dilute its pledge to introduce a cap on ground rents.

She was also among the key figures who forced Downing Street to back down over a motion demanding the release of documents linked to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as British ambassador to the US.

Many have speculated that the increasing level of comment on government matters could be a sign that she is laying the ground for a return to the frontbench, or even planning for a future leadership challenge following the May elections.