Police had initially said Rayner would not face investigation following questions over whether she had paid the correct amount of tax on the sale of a property, but have revised this decision after James Daly, Tory MP for Bury North, complained that the electoral roll had not been taken into account.
“We’re investigating whether any offences have been committed. This follows a reassessment of the information provided to us by Mr Daly,” a GMP spokesperson said.
Rayner has denied any wrongdoing. It is claimed she has given two separate addresses on the electoral register on two birth certificates.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Angela welcomes the chance to set out the facts with the police. We remain completely confident that Angela has complied with the rules at all times and it’s now appropriate to let the police do its work.”
According to The Times police officers had not contacted a dozen of Rayner’s direct neighbours who lived near her property on Vicarage Road in Stockport, which she claims was her main home, or Lowndes Lane, where she is believed to have lived. Rayner bought the property for £79,000 in 2007. In March 2015 the house was sold for £127,500, equating to a gain of £48,500. Vicarage Road was claimed to be the main home and was therefore exempt from capital gains tax. However, there have been claims that for some of this time she was primarily living at an address in Lowndes Lane owned by her then-husband. The couple separated in 2020.
The claims first emerged in the biography Red Queen written by peer Lord Ashcroft, published in March.
