Angela Rayner will face no further action from police over her two homes, it was announced today.
The Deputy Labour leader has been under investigation by Greater Manchester Police amid questions about her living arrangements a decade ago.
The Ashton-under-Lyne MP had faced claims she may have broken electoral law and dodged capital gains tax and council tax by declaring the wrong home.
In a statement this afternoon, the force said it was dropping the probe. However, it added that ‘council tax and personal tax do not fall into the jurisdiction of policing’ and findings had been passed on to Stockport Council and HMRC.
Labour said that the decision ‘draws a line’ under the controversy, while the council said it was also taking no further action.
HMRC would not comment on an individual’s tax affairs, although there are claims they had already looked into the matter at Ms Rayner’s request and concluded there was no capital gains tax liability.
Angela Rayner will face no further action from police over her housing, it was announced today
A statement from the force said: ‘Following allegations about Angela Rayner MP, Greater Manchester Police has completed a thorough, carefully considered and proportionate investigation. We have concluded that no further police action will be taken.
‘The investigation originated from complaints made by Mr James Daly MP directly to GMP.
‘Subsequent further contact with GMP by members of the public, and claims made by individuals featured in media reporting, indicated a strong public interest in the need for allegations to be investigated.
‘Matters involving council tax and personal tax do not fall into the jurisdiction of policing.
‘GMP has liaised with Stockport Council and information about our investigation has been shared with them.
‘Details of our investigation have also been shared with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).’
A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘The police have now completed their investigation into claims made by the Conservative Party deputy chairman and have concluded that no further action will be taken. Angela co-operated fully with the police investigation throughout.
‘Angela has always been clear that she was not liable for capital gains tax on the sale of the home she owned before she was an MP, that she was properly registered to vote, and paid the appropriate council tax. She took expert tax and legal advice which confirms this.
‘This draws a line under the matter.’
Stockport Council said: ‘Stockport Council has reviewed and responded to all correspondence relating to this matter, including information received from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who have concluded that no further police action will be taken.
‘We have also concluded that no further action will be taken on behalf of the council.’
An HMRC spokesman said: ‘We cannot comment on individuals due to taxpayer confidentiality law.’
Labour has been increasingly confident Ms Rayner would be cleared by GMP, after a probe lasting around six weeks.
She has been strongly backed by Keir Starmer, and the pair have been appearing together on the campaign trail.
Ms Rayner is believed to have spoken to officers about claims over where she was living in the 2010s and the sale of her council home.
Officers began investigating after the Mail on Sunday raised questions about where she lived around the time she sold her former council house in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
They were probing whether the MP gave false information on the electoral register after she was accused of potential breaches of the Representation of the People Act 1983.
But the police were seen as unlikely to send a file to the Crown Prosecution Service because charges must be brought within 12 months of an alleged offence.
Ms Rayner has been strongly backed by Keir Starmer (pictured today with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves), and the pair have been appearing together on the campaign trail
Officers are also investigating other allegations, beyond electoral offences, and have seemingly passed some of their findings to the council and HMRC.
Ms Rayner has insisted she lived primarily in her own home, in Vicarage Road, while her then husband, and father to two of her three children, lived a mile away.
This has been contradicted by former neighbours, who said she lived with her husband and children, and a political aide who gave a statement to police.
It has prompted questions over whether she failed to pay capital gains tax on the sale of the house she owned, and also about her council tax arrangements.
Neighbours have claimed her brother lived there and Ms Rayner had described herself as the ‘landlord’.
Her spokesman previously said she ‘looks forward to sitting down with the appropriate authorities, including the police and HMRC, to set out the facts and draw a line under this matter’.
