Labour Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson found herself on the end of a grilling on GB News today after a fresh twist in the cash for clothes scandal.
It was reported that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves both took thousands of pounds of work clothing from rich donors that were declared as generic support for their work.
Speaking on the Financial Times report, Camilla Tominey asked Phillipson how the Labour top brass can justify the move.
“You said everything has been properly registered, it hasn’t has it?”, she asked.
Camilla Tominey grilled Bridget Phillipson on GB News
GB NEWS
“Rachel Reeves registered a £7,500 donation from a woman called Juliet Rosenfeld which went towards her wardrobe as ‘office expenses’.
“What you wear to work isn’t office expenses, is it?”
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Phillipson began to respond by saying “it was declared, in line with the rules, that Rachel and others will not be taking such donations”, before Camilla interjected.
“Hang on a minute”, she interrupted to say.
“Is clothing an office expense? If I put in my self-employee tax return and I put these clothes in as an office expense, I think I would rightly face an audit by HMRC.
“The Chancellor is in charge of the Treasury and oversees HMRC. So why is this regarded as being properly registered? It’s not an office expense.”
Bridget Phillipson joined Camilla Tominey on GB News
GB NEWS
Phillipson sought to defend her Labour colleague, saying all items were declared in a “proper way”, before Camilla asked once more if clothing can be regarded as an office expense.
“Can I just have an answer?”, she asked as the conversation ramped up.
“I’m not sure I would characterise it in those terms”, Phillipson finally admitted.
“No, so why did she declare it as such?”, Camilla asked again, before Phillipson went on the defensive once more.
“She’s declared it. She received the donation, made it clear who it came from and she made it clear that in the future, she will not be spending money that way.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she understood why people were “frustrated” and “angry” that figures including Sir Keir Starmer had received thousands of pounds in gifts.
But she added these had been “a feature of our politics for a very long time”, arguing that donations were necessary because of the expense of running for office, and stressing the importance of transparency.
Rayner has herself been criticised for staying in a flat owned by Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli while on holiday in New York, but denied breaking any Commons rules about declaring the gift.
