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Kemi Badenoch has said hacking into Harriet Harman's website erstwhile she was younger is "not the same" arsenic Rachel Reeves failing to get a £900 rental licence for her home.
The Tory leader, who has called for the chancellor to go for breaking the law, told Sky News' lawman governmental exertion Sam Coates she was not an MP successful 2008 erstwhile she got into Labour adjacent Baroness Harman's website and changed it truthful it was pro-Conservative.
Politics latest: Reeves told she has to spell aft breaking law
Hacking into websites is simply a transgression offence and tin beryllium punishable with a good oregon up to a two-year situation condemnation for insignificant offences, oregon beingness imprisonment for the astir serious.
Asked if she had ever breached the law, Ms Badenoch said: "I don't judge that I have, but if I had done so, if I had done truthful erstwhile I was successful government, past I would person been sacked oregon I would person been forced to resign."
But reminded of her hacking episode, she said: "This was thing I did successful my 20s.
"We're not talking astir thing that Rachel Reeves did successful her 20s, we're talking astir thing she's doing arsenic chancellor, aft she became chancellor.
"It is not the aforesaid happening astatine all."
She said radical should not "try and gully a mendacious equivalence" and said she guessed Baroness Harman's password to participate the website, adding it was "a summary offence, similar speeding".
"This is whataboutery, we person a authorities of radical who are repeatedly breaking the law," she added.
Ms Reeves has said she was not alert she needed a rental licence, required successful immoderate areas, to fto retired her household location successful Dulwich, southeast London, aft she moved to Downing Street erstwhile she was made chancellor.
She has present applied for a licence and apologised to Sir Keir Starmer, who has said that is capable and determination is nary request for an investigation.
But Ms Badenoch said Ms Reeves's presumption is untenable, fixed the PM has said "lawbreakers shouldn't beryllium lawmakers".
Read more:
What instrumentality has Rachel Reeves broken?
What are rental licensing laws?
Under the Housing Act 2004, introduced by Labour, councils tin determine to present selective licensing, wherever residential landlords successful specified areas indispensable person a licence.
Landlords indispensable adhere to definite requirements to get a licence, including state certificates, moving c monoxide alarms and occurrence information regulations for furnishings.
They indispensable unafraid a licence wrong 28 days of renting retired a home.
Southwark Council, wherever Rachel Reeves' location is, charges £900 for a licence, which lasts 5 years.
Failure to unafraid a selective licence tin effect successful a punishment of up to £30,000 oregon an unlimited good from a tribunal upon conviction.
Landlords tin besides beryllium made to repay up to 12 months' rent to the tenant oregon they tin beryllium prevented from renting retired the property.
Serious and repetition offenders tin beryllium prosecuted, with a condemnation of up to 5 years oregon an uncapped fine, and they tin beryllium enactment connected a rogue landlords database.
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Ms Badenoch's hacking escapade emerged successful 2018 aft she was asked astir the "naughtiest" happening she had ever done successful an interrogation with the Core Politics website.
"About 10 years ago, I hacked into a Labour MP's website and I changed each the worldly successful determination to accidental bully things astir Tories," she said.
The then-Conservative Party's vice seat for candidates, who became an MP successful 2017, said she had apologised and called it a "foolish prank".
Baroness Harman told Sky News' Electoral Dysfunction podcast past twelvemonth Ms Badenoch had posted connected her website arsenic if she was the Labour peer, saying she was reasoning of joining the Conservative Party.
Ms Badenoch "owned up to it and really bragged astir it", Baroness Harman said, arsenic she admitted her password astatine the clip was "Harriet Harman".
She said she decided not to property charges.
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