The row between Keir Starmer and Michael Ashcroft deepened on Friday after the billionaire Conservative donor demanded an apology from the Labour leader for accusing him of “smearing” Angela Rayner over her tax affairs.
Lord Ashcroft hit back two days after Starmer said at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday: “We have a billionaire prime minister and a billionaire peer, both of whose families have used schemes to avoid millions of pounds of tax, smearing a working-class woman.”
The comments came after several weeks of newspaper coverage of Rayner’s tax affairs prompted by Ashcroft’s book, Red Queen?, which have culminated in a police investigation.
Ashcroft said in a statement: “I am shocked that a former director of public prosecutions could abuse parliamentary privilege by accusing me of smearing Angela Rayner over tax allegations.
“If he reads my book, which I would suggest is an essential precursor for offering a critical view about its contents, he will discover that I make no allegations whatsoever about any impropriety on the part of his deputy. I think an apology might be in order.”
A Labour party spokesperson said in response: “Lord Ashcroft has got more front than Blackpool.”
The ill-tempered exchanges cap a difficult week for Rayner after Greater Manchester police confirmed it was investigating the sale of her former council house in 2015. Rayner has been accused of falsely claiming to live in the house while actually residing with her then husband, Mark Rayner, which could have reduced her tax bill.
Ashcroft has denied making any allegations about Rayner’s tax affairs. Instead, his book concentrates on whether she should have returned the house to the council to use as social housing after marrying Mark in 2010.
He writes in Red Queen?: “If Stockport council were to review her case, would its representatives believe their residents had got a fair deal out of Rayner’s ownership of the property?”
The Conservatives have taken the details in the book and used them to attack Rayner on a range of issues, firstly accusing her of hypocrisy for making nearly £50,000 in profit when she sold the property, and then focusing on her tax situation.
James Daly, the Conservative MP who reported Rayner to the police, struggled to explain this week what his allegations against the Labour deputy leader were.
Asked on Sky News what his complaint to the police focused on, Daly said: “An allegation has been made to the police, the police are investigating that allegation – let’s give them the time and opportunity to do that.”
Rayner says she followed the rules at all points during the sale of her house, and has promised to resign as deputy leader if the police find she has committed a crime.