Rayner on the ropes: Labour's deputy leader flounders over housing row in ... trends now

Labour was tonight under intense pressure to set out the truth about Angela Rayner's controversial property dealings.

Sir Keir Starmer today backed his deputy over claims she may have dodged tax and even broken the law when she sold her former council house a decade ago.

The Labour leader said he was 'satisfied' that 'tax and legal' advice commissioned by Ms Rayner proved she had done nothing wrong. But in an extraordinary twist, the former director of public prosecutions later admitted he had not even seen the advice himself before declaring Ms Rayner to be innocent.

The police this week confirmed they were reconsidering a formal investigation into the affair, having previously dismissed it. In a further development last night, Stockport Council said it was reviewing whether Ms Rayner claimed single person's council discount on the property, while letting her brother live there.

Ms Rayner today said she had done 'absolutely nothing wrong', but insisted she would not publish 'personal' tax and legal advice.

Conservative Party deputy chairman Jonathan Gullis urged Sir Keir to come clean and set out the truth about his deputy's past property dealings. In a letter to the Labour leader, Mr Gullis noted Sir Keir's previously stated view that 'there should be no power without accountability, and true accountability requires transparency'.

He said it was not good enough for Ms Rayner to rely on advice she is unwilling to publish, adding: 'As things stand, the public has no knowledge of what information she gave to whoever advised her, let alone what advice she was given.'

Mr Gullis said Sir Keir had a duty to explain how he had cleared Ms Rayner without even seeing the advice she is relying on, adding that it was not even clear whether the advice covered tax or legal issues.

And he asked whether the Labour leader was 'content' for his deputy to have made 'misleading statements to the media' about the issue.

Mr Gullis urged Sir Keir to answer the many outstanding questions about the affair, adding: 'If you cannot, I would ask that you compel your deputy to answer them.'

He added: 'I know you will be anxious to avoid a deputy leadership election, especially with the splits in your party over Gaza, but if you are to stand by your previous statements and reassure the public, you and Ms Rayner must answer the questions that I and others have put to you.'

Ms Rayner said she had received 'personal tax advice' which exonerated her over the sale of a house in Stockport which neighbours say was effectively a second home.

The Labour firebrand, who is on course to be Britain's first female deputy prime minister, has been mired in controversy since The Mail on Sunday revealed her complex property dealings last month.