Tory Deputy Chair Clams Up On Angela Rayner Police Complaint In Tense Sky News Clash
Conservative Party Deputy Chair James Daly, who made a police complaint against Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, refused to say what he believed she’d done wrong as fellow panellists cornered him for answers in an awkward Sky News panel appearance Wednesday.
Daly felt the heat after Shadow Minister Chris Bryant deferred a question on the matter to him, since he’d written to the police to demand an investigation in the first place, but as he refused to answer the question, instead attacking Labour.
Daly, clearly riled at being put on the spot, said: “Unlike Chris, who shouts and makes all sorts of public allegations, what I want to do is, an allegation’s been made to the police, the police are investigating that, let’s give them the time and the opportunity to do that, which I thought was the Labour Party’s position.”
It was at this stage host Sophie Ridge joined in to push him to answer. She said: “Sorry, can I just jump in? Yeah. You wrote to the police. Did you not put concerns of allegations? Didn’t you write to them about it? Am I misunderstanding?”
Cornered, the Tory deputy chair continued to skirt around specifics and mentioned only that the issues were “in the public domain” but declined to confirm whether they pertained to tax or electoral matters, stating only: “I think there were a number of matters.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed they are investigating Rayner over allegations related to her electoral registration and the taxation of her previous home. The probe centres on whether Rayner falsely registered her address on the electoral roll a decade ago, which could also implicate her in potential tax evasion concerning the profit from a house sale.
Despite the claims, Rayner asserts she has done nothing wrong and took legal advice at the time. She promised to resign if found guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.
Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer defended Rayner, contrasting the scrutiny she faces with allegations of tax avoidance by the family of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, painting it as a smear against a “working class woman.”
Watch above on Sky News.
