PM backs Rachel Reeves after she was ‘investigated over expenses’ at banking job
Sir Keir Starmer says he has full confidence in Rachel Reeves after questions were raised about inaccuracies in her CV and her use of expenses in a previous job.
The chancellor has been 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.
She has also been accused of saying she worked for the Bank of England for longer than she did.
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Downing Street said the PM believes he can trust the chancellor.
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.”
One ex-colleague told the BBC she nearly got sacked after an investigation into three senior managers accused of “signing off each other’s expenses”.
This included spending hundreds of pounds on handbags, perfume, earrings and wine for colleagues, including one gift for her boss.
A whistleblower said there was also concern about her spending on taxis and on a Christmas party.
In a Facebook group of former HBOS employees seen by the BBC, several people referred to Ms Reeves being investigated over her expenses spending.
Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir’s official spokesman said it was “correct” the prime minister has “no concerns whatsoever” about the chancellor’s conduct and has confidence in her.
He also said: “I can’t speak to her time prior to government.
“The PM works hand in hand and has full faith in the chancellor.”
Sir Keir later said she has “dealt with any issues that arise” from questions about her career before becoming an MP.
Ms Weyper, former HBOS’ HR, said there was an “extensive oversight” of all expense policies, receipts were signed off by line managers and in her role she “would have been made aware of any investigation which concluded”.
“I cannot speak for the motivations behind those who have been making these claims about Rachel Reeves. However, I do not recognise them and understand she left the bank on good terms,” she added.
Reeves was ‘not aware of an investigation’
A spokesperson for Ms Reeves said: “Rachel is proud of the work she did at HBOS and the teams that she led, it is 16 years since she left the bank and the first time she was made aware of these claims was when approached by journalists.
“She was not aware of an investigation nor was she interviewed, and she did not face any disciplinary action on this or any other matters. All expenses were submitted and signed off in the proper way.
“Several former colleagues from her time at the bank, including HBOS’ former HR business partner, have corroborated this account.
“Rachel left HBOS in 2009 on good terms.”
Ms Reeves’s lawyer while she was leaving HBOS said she left HBOS with a “standard-style agreement” after a “mutually agreed exit was made during the bank’s restructure”.
David Sorensen, a managing partner at Morrish Solicitors, added: “My clear understanding at the time was that my client, who was in a senior role, left on good terms when HBOS plc was acquired in 2009, as evidenced by the payments made to her, the retention of her company car and other benefits for a six-month period, and a favourable reference.
“Absolutely no allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct were mentioned by the HBOS HR team during this process.”
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LinkedIn dates questioned
Questions have also been raised about Ms Reeves’ online CV, as her LinkedIn profile said she stayed at the Bank of England nine months longer than she actually did, the BBC has reported.
She has publicly said she spent a decade there, but her LinkedIn profile claimed she worked at the bank from September 2000 to December 2006.
However, she is understood to have left by March 2006, when she started working at HBOS.
That means she spent five and a half years at the bank, including nearly a year studying.
Ms Reeves’ spokesman, in a comment given to the BBC, said the dates on her LinkedIn were inaccurate and blamed an administrative error by her team.
They said the chancellor had not seen it before it was published.
The chancellor’s LinkedIn profile has now been updated to reflect she left the bank in March 2006.
Ms Reeves has repeatedly said she spent 10 years at the Bank of England, citing her time as an economist there as why she can be trusted with the UK’s finances.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
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As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
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One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
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