Connect with us

Published

on

The sleaze row over MPs’ second jobs is set to drag on at Westminster after the government failed to bring a parliamentary conclusion to its U-turn over the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal.

Opposition MPs accused ministers of overseeing a “total farce” as government efforts to scrap its controversial attempt to overhaul parliament’s standards rules were blocked late on Monday night.

Nearly two weeks ago, Conservative MPs – encouraged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson – voted to save Tory ex-minister Mr Paterson from a 30-day suspension from the House of Commons, as well as create a new Conservative-dominated committee to rethink parliament’s disciplinary processes.

Britain's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson leaves 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting, in central London, June 15, 2010. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)
Image:
The government failed to rescind an earlier motion that prompted the row over ex-minister Owen Paterson

Amid a furious backlash at the move, Mr Johnson and the government performed a climbdown and promised a new vote on Mr Paterson being found to have breached lobbying rules as part of his £110,000 per year work for two private companies.

In a Commons motion on Monday, the government hoped to see MPs rescind the earlier motion passed by Conservatives on 3 November, which had approved the overhaul of parliament’s standards rules, as well as to accept the findings of parliament’s sleaze watchdog against Mr Paterson and note he had since resigned as an MP amid the controversy.

It had been expected the motion would be passed “on the nod” and without the need for a vote.

However, veteran Tory backbencher Sir Christopher Chope was seen to shout “object” in the Commons chamber when the motion was moved late on Monday night, meaning it could not be approved.

More on Owen Paterson

Shouts of “wow” and “surprise, surprise” were heard as Commons deputy speaker Nigel Evans accepted the objection.

Mr Evans said it would now be “up to the government to re-programme that particular motion”, which is likely to see ministers having to devote more parliamentary time to the row over Mr Paterson.

Labour’s Chris Bryant, the chair of the standards committee that recommended Mr Paterson’s suspension, said there would now be a one-hour debate on Tuesday on rescinding the 3 November motion and to approve the findings against Mr Paterson.

Subscribe to the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain claimed the government had presided over a “total farce” in the Commons.

“First, the Government scheduled this motion so there would be no chance for debate,” she said.

“Now, the motion hasn’t passed. It’s insulting that, after two weeks of this scandal, the government couldn’t even perform their sleaze U-turn successfully.

“This tells you all you need to know about the state of the Conservative Party.

“It’s vital that the Government brings this back before MPs as soon as possible.

“Every day that goes by without this being repealed, the more embarrassing this whole affair becomes. We must move forward.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player


3 November – ‘Shame’: MPs vote against suspension of ex-minister

The SNP’s shadow leader of the House of Commons, Pete Wishart, said Monday night had seen “one of these delicious, farcical comedy moments in the House of Commons where all the best laid plans fall apart”.

Continue Reading

Politics

Tories repeat calls for Rayner to resign after lawyers claim they did not provide tax advice

Published

on

By

Tories repeat calls for Rayner to resign after lawyers claim they did not provide tax advice

The Conservatives have repeated calls for Angela Rayner to resign after a legal firm she used said it did not provide her with tax advice in a row over underpaid stamp duty.

Party leader Kemi Badenoch said more “damning evidence” had come to light regarding the deputy leader’s tax affairs, which is now subject to an investigation by the prime minister’s independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus.

Politics latest: Former Tory minister Nadine Dorries defects to Reform

The Daily Telegraph reported that Verrico & Associates, a conveyancing firm that handled the purchase of her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, did not in fact give tax or trust advice to Ms Rayner – and that they believed they had been made “scapegoats” in the political row.

Joanna Verrico, the managing director, told The Telegraph: “We acted for Ms Rayner when she purchased the flat in Hove. We did not and never have given tax or trust advice. It’s something we always refer our clients to an accountant or tax expert for.

“The stamp duty for the Hove flat was calculated using HMRC’s own online calculator, based on the figures and the information provided by Ms Rayner. That’s what we used, and it told us we had to pay £30,000 based on the information provided to us. We believe that we did everything correctly and in good faith. Everything was exactly as it should be.

“We probably are being made scapegoats for all this, and I have got the arrows stuck in my back to show it. We are not an inexperienced firm, but we’re not qualified to give advice on trust and tax matters and we advise clients to seek expert advice on these.”

More on Angela Rayner

Sky News has approached representatives for Ms Rayner for comment as well Verrico & Associates.

The deputy prime minister, who is also the housing secretary, has been under scrutiny after the newspaper claimed she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty on the flat in Hove by removing her name from the deeds of another property in Greater Manchester.

Ms Rayner said she sold her stake in her family home in Ashton-under-Lyne to a trust that was set up to provide for her teenage son, who has lifelong disabilities – meaning she did not technically own that home when she purchased the one in Hove, and so was not subject to the higher rate of stamp duty that applies to second homes.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Liz Bates on the row engulfing Angela Rayner

On Tuesday Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy claimed she made an honest mistake owing to her “complex” living situation and that lawyers initially advised her she only owed the basic rate of stamp duty for the Hove property.

In an interview with Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Rayner became tearful as she claimed she received incorrect tax advice and spoke to her family about “packing it all in”.

However, following subsequent media reports, Ms Rayner sought further legal advice on Monday this week which advised her that the higher rate of stamp duty was in fact due on her East Sussex flat.

The deputy prime minister has claimed she made an honest mistake as lawyers initially advised her she only owed the basic rate of stamp duty when she bought a flat in Hove in May.

Read more:
Key questions left unanswered in Angela Rayner tax row
Victim of misogyny’ or ‘freeloading’ deputy prime minister?

On the statement from Verrico & Associates, Ms Badenoch said: “This is yet more damning evidence that Angela Rayner has not been honest with the British public.

“From the start we’ve had nothing but excuses, deflections and lies. Enough is enough.

“How many final straws can there be for Angela Rayner? She must resign or Keir Starmer must finally find the backbone to sack her.”

Sir Keir Starmer has so far said he would not be drawn on Ms Rayner’s political future, but said he would “of course” act on the findings of Sir Laurie who will look into whether she broke ministerial rules.

In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir said: “There’s a clear procedure. I strengthened that procedure. I am expecting a result pretty quickly.

“I do want it to be comprehensive … and then of course I will act on whatever the report is that’s put in front of me.”

Continue Reading

Politics

SEC’s agenda proposes crypto safe harbors, broker-dealers reforms

Published

on

By

SEC’s agenda proposes crypto safe harbors, broker-dealers reforms

SEC’s agenda proposes crypto safe harbors, broker-dealers reforms

The proposed rule changes potentially affecting SEC guidelines on broker-dealers, custody and reporting could allow crypto companies to operate in the US with less oversight.

Continue Reading

Politics

Fate of ‘Red Queen’ Rayner in hands of ‘quango king’ baronet

Published

on

By

Fate of 'Red Queen' Rayner in hands of 'quango king' baronet

The backgrounds of Angela Rayner and Sir Laurie Magnus – the sleaze watchdog who holds her fate in his hands – couldn’t be more different.

Labour’s “Red Queen” is a working-class council house girl who got pregnant at 16. He’s an old Etonian “quango king”, a City grandee and a pillar of the establishment.

He’s so posh he wasn’t awarded his knighthood in the usual way by the Monarch after being nominated by 10 Downing Street. He’s a baronet whose title is hereditary.

But though Sir Laurie’s a proper toff, he’s no pushover and he doesn’t waste time. In 2023 his investigation into former Tory minister Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs took just six days.

Sir Laurie concluded that Mr Zahawi’s conduct had fallen below what was expected from a minister. So the then PM Rishi Sunak sacked him for a “serious breach of the ministerial code”.

This year, Labour minister Tulip Siddiq quit after Sir Laurie said she should have been more alert to “potential reputational risks” of ties to her aunt in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.

That inquiry took eight days, so might Sir Laurie’s Angela Rayner probe take about a week? Perhaps, though it has been suggested he’s due to go on holiday on Saturday. So could his report come before then?

More on Angela Rayner

Sir Laurie was appointed by Mr Sunak more than eight weeks after he became PM. At the time, there were claims that he was struggling to find a candidate.

That was because the two previous holders of the post, veteran mandarin Sir Alex Allan and former Royal courtier Sir Christopher Geidt, both quit after disagreements with Boris Johnson.

Sir Alex quit in 2020 after finding former home secretary Priti Patel guilty of bullying. But then Mr Johnson declared that she had not breached the ministerial code.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Angela Rayner admitted to Beth Rigby that she didn’t pay enough tax on a property she bought in Hove.

Sir Christopher, a former private secretary to the Queen, quit in June 2022 after concluding Mr Johnson may have broken ministerial rules over party-gate.

So Mr Sunak turned to Sir Laurie, a former merchant banker who served on half a dozen quangos and whose long business career involved links with disgraced retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and the late tycoon Robert Maxwell.

Read more:
Rayner admits she should have paid more stamp duty
Rayner came out fighting in Sky interview
Rayner’s tax affairs statement in full

There was immediately controversy because Mr Sunak refused to give Sir Laurie the power to launch his own investigations into allegations or ministerial wrong-doing. That changed when Sir Keir Starmer became PM last year.

But before then, Sir Laurie couldn’t launch his own inquiry into the conduct of Dominic Raab over bullying allegations or Suella Braverman over claims of leaking and ignoring legal advice over asylum.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sky’s Paul Kelso breaks down the facts behind Angela Rayner’s stamp duty controversy.

The role of independent adviser on ministerial standards, to give Sir Laurie his official title, was created by Tony Blair in 2006. Ministers can refer themselves for investigation, as Tulip Siddiq and Angela Rayner both did.

Why was Sir Laurie chosen? A senior Square Mile insider told Sky News: “Laurie Magnus is very much a member of the City’s great and the good.”

Sir Laurence Henry Philip Magnus, 3rd Baronet is the third in a baronetcy that dates back to 1917, when it was awarded to an ancestor who represented London University in the House of Commons.

His quango CV includes the chairmanship of Historic England, a former trustee of the conservation charity the Landmark Trust, ex-chair of the National Trust, membership of the Culture Recovery Fund, a trustee of English Heritage Trust and deputy chair of the All Churches Trust.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Has Rayner tax issues thrown uncertainty over the Starmer project?

As Historic England boss, Sir Laurie entered the row over the tearing down of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, claiming such statues should not be removed but have “counter-memorials” placed alongside them.

Besides his quango roles, Sir Laurie remains a major figure in the City, as a senior adviser at investment banking group Evercore and chairing two FTSE 250 listed investment trusts.

Which means that the class divide between the old Etonian City grandee and the former shop steward and champion of workers’ rights whose fate is in his hands couldn’t be greater.

Continue Reading

Trending