Ashcroft demands Starmer apology for Rayner ‘smear’ accusations

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.

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.

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.