Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox
Get our free View from Westminster email
The police are investigating Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner following a row over the sale of her council house.
Greater Manchester Police said it was looking into claims she may have broken electoral law in the early 2010s.
Ms Rayner has accused the Conservative party of attempting to “smear” her and insisted that controversy about her tax affairs was “manufactured”.
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.”
Police originally said that Ms Rayner would not face an investigation over claims she gave false information about where she was living for the electoral roll. However, they agreed to “review the circumstances” in a letter to deputy Tory party chairman James Daly last month.
The original investigation began after former Conservative party deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft suggested that Ms Rayner failed to properly declare her main residency in his book Red Queen? The Unauthorised Biography of Angela Rayner. This led to claims Ms Rayner may owe capital gains tax on the sale of her property, something she has denied.
More follows …
