Angela Rayner was cleared by the taxman just 24 hours after her lawyers demanded a decision, it has emerged.
Labour’s former deputy leader had been under investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) since last autumn over whether she paid enough stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside home.
But she announced this week that she had been cleared of wrongdoing or carelessness, just in time for her to join the race to replace Sir Keir Starmer.
Now it has been revealed that her lawyer wrote to HMRC on Monday, as calls grew for the Prime Minister to quit in the wake of the party’s local elections drubbing, requesting her case be closed as ‘soon as possible’.
The taxman replied the following day, declaring that the case would be closed and she would not have to pay a penalty – although she did have to stump up an extra £40,000 as the flat in Hove, East Sussex, was deemed to be a second home.
Her lawyer, leading tax barrister Graham Aaronson KC, said it was ‘no coincidence’ the matter had been settled this week.
Mr Aaronson told the Daily Mail: ‘As far as I was concerned it was a perfectly normal, very thorough inquiry, no preference by them.
Angela Rayner revealed in an interview with ITV News that she had been cleared by HMRC
Pictured: Flats by the sea in Hove, East Sussex
‘I really did think it would have finished much earlier. HMRC carried out a textbook inquiry.’
He said he hoped it could have been resolved in March but that HMRC had done a thorough investigation that had taken longer than he had anticipated.
Details of the timing have prompted fresh questions for HMRC after tax experts queried why it had not imposed a penalty on Ms Rayner as it normally does in such cases.
Conservative party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘Even Angela Rayner’s own lawyer says it’s ‘no coincidence’ she was able to settle up with HMRC – after dodging housing taxes – in time to pile into the Labour leadership race.
‘This kind of fast-track sweetheart deal isn’t available to ordinary citizens, so why was Rayner able to secure it, and at a time of her own choosing?
‘Rayner should come clean and publish her full correspondence with HMRC.
‘Until then we will all be left asking: who’s in charge here – Angela or the taxman.’
It was also reported that Ms Rayner had access to a VIP hotline known as ‘Public Department 1’, which is reserved for members of the Royal Family, MPs and the ultra-rich.
Calls to the line are answered in as little as three minutes, compared with the 45 minutes the general public must wait.
However, a spokesman for Ms Rayner said: ‘Angela had no need to make use of a VIP helpline in this matter, she instructed professional advisers.’
She said in a statement on Thursday: ‘I welcome HMRC’s conclusion, which has cleared me of any wrongdoing.
‘I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.’
Ms Rayner insisted she was advised by experts she should pay stamp duty at the standard rate, having bought the flat after her disabled son’s trust bought her out of her constituency property.
‘I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this,’ she said.
Asked for its response to the claims about her case, HMRC said it could not comment on individuals.
Meanwhile Labour grandee Ed Balls said Ms Rayner – who on Sunday published a 1,000-word statement urging Sir Keir to change course – could have a good chance of winning a future leadership contest.
He said on his Political Currency podcast: ‘The timing of her intervention today, and the delicacy of the communication was very, very skilled.
‘I think she’s authentic, she’s a good communicator, and if she gets the right people around her… don’t write her off.’
But his co-host, former Tory Chancellor George Osborne said: ‘Angela Rayner is just very unpopular with the public.
And you can’t really say, ‘look at her great back story’, if part of the back story now is not paying tax.’
However, he conceded: ‘She has an energy and personality which is felt to be lacking in Keir Starmer.’
