‘No one raised concerns with me’: Chancellor Rachel Reeves responds to expenses allegations

Published

5 months ago

February 14, 2025

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Rachel Reeves says “no one ever raised any concerns” about her expenses when she worked at HBOS, as she responds to reports she was investigated while working for the bank.

The chancellor was accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to 2009, according to the BBC.

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Speaking for the first time in public after the reports, Ms Reeves said: “No one ever raised any concerns about my expenses when I worked for Halifax Bank of Scotland.

“I submitted, had processed and had my expenses signed off in the proper way as you would expect, and no issues were ever raised during my time at Halifax Bank of Scotland.”

She added: “I was never questioned, never asked to pay back any expenses.”

Yesterday, Ms Reeves‘ spokesperson said she was “not aware of an investigation, nor was she interviewed”. Her lawyer has denied the allegations.

Jayne Wayper, former HR business partner for HBOS, said: “I do not recognise any of the accusations or claims that have been made against Rachel Reeves.”

Ms Reeves added that people will judge her on how well she does at her job as chancellor, rather than on her LinkedIn profile.

Her career history was changed following reports from the BBC that the amount of time that she claimed to have worked for the Bank of England was inaccurate.

The chancellor said: “I worked as an economist at the Bank of England between 2000 and 2006 before going to work in financial services for Halifax Bank of Scotland.

“And I’m really proud of the work that I did before I became an MP, but in the end, people are going to judge me on the job that I’m doing now as chancellor of the exchequer to grow the economy and put more money in the pockets of working people.”

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Leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch had earlier said that Ms Reeves had “very, very serious questions to answer” over the reports.

She said: “Keir Starmer said that he was bringing in a government of integrity.

“He’s lost one minister due to corruption allegations. Another one has had to resign because of fraud that was committed while she was working – and this is pretty close to that.”

Sir Keir Starmer has given his full backing to his chancellor.

Politics

Jingye and Whitehall officials hold talks over British Steel future

Published

2 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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Jingye and Whitehall officials hold talks over British Steel future

The Chinese owner of British Steel has held fresh talks with government officials in a bid to break the impasse over ministers’ determination not to compensate it for seizing control of the company.

Sky News has learnt that executives from Jingye Group met senior civil servants from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) late last week to discuss ways to resolve the standoff.

Whitehall sources said the talks had been cordial, but that no meaningful progress had been made towards a resolution.

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Jingye wants the government to agree to pay it hundreds of millions of pounds for taking control of British Steel in April – a move triggered by the Chinese group’s preparations for the permanent closure of its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe.

Such a move would have cost thousands of jobs and ended Britain’s centuries-old ability to produce virgin steel.

Jingye had been in talks for months to seek £1bn in state aid to facilitate the Scunthorpe plant’s transition to greener steelmaking, but was offered just half that sum by ministers.

British Steel has not yet been formally nationalised, although that remains a probable outcome.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has previously dismissed the idea of compensating Jingye, saying British Steel’s equity was essentially worthless.

Last month, he met his Chinese counterpart, where the issue of British Steel was discussed between the two governments in person for the first time.

Jingye has hired the leading City law firm Linklaters to explore the recovery of hundreds of millions of pounds it invested in the Scunthorpe-based company before the government seized control of it.

News of last week’s meeting comes as British steelmakers face an anxious wait to learn whether their exports to the US face swingeing tariffs as part of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Sky News’s economics and data editor, Ed Conway, revealed this week that the UK would miss a White House-imposed deadline to agree a trade deal on steel and aluminium this week.

Jingye declined to comment, while a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said: “We acted quickly to ensure the continued operations of the blast furnaces but recognise that securing British Steel’s long-term future requires private sector investment.

“We have not nationalised British Steel and are working closely with Jingye on options for the future, and we will continue work on determining the best long-term sustainable future for the site.”