Fate of 'Red Queen' Rayner in hands of 'quango king' baronet

The backgrounds of Angela Rayner and Sir Laurie Magnus - the sleaze watchdog who holds her destiny successful his hands - couldn't beryllium much different.

Labour's "Red Queen" is simply a working-class assembly location miss who got large astatine 16. He's an aged Etonian "quango king", a City grandee and a pillar of the establishment.

He's truthful posh helium wasn't awarded his knighthood successful the accustomed mode by the Monarch aft being nominated by 10 Downing Street. He's a baronet whose rubric is hereditary.

But though Sir Laurie's a due toff, he's nary pushover and helium doesn't discarded time. In 2023 his probe into erstwhile Tory curate Nadhim Zahawi's taxation affairs took conscionable six days.

Sir Laurie concluded that Mr Zahawi's behaviour had fallen beneath what was expected from a minister. So the past PM Rishi Sunak sacked him for a "serious breach of the ministerial code".

This year, Labour curate Tulip Siddiq discontinue aft Sir Laurie said she should person been much alert to "potential reputational risks" of ties to her aunt successful an anti-corruption investigation successful Bangladesh.

That enquiry took 8 days, truthful mightiness Sir Laurie's Angela Rayner probe instrumentality astir a week? Perhaps, though it has been suggested he's owed to spell connected vacation connected Saturday. So could his study travel earlier then?

Sir Laurie was appointed by Mr Sunak much than 8 weeks aft helium became PM. At the time, determination were claims that helium was struggling to find a candidate.

That was due to the fact that the 2 erstwhile holders of the post, seasoned mandarin Sir Alex Allan and erstwhile Royal courtier Sir Christopher Geidt, some discontinue aft disagreements with Boris Johnson.

Sir Alex discontinue successful 2020 aft uncovering erstwhile location caput Priti Patel blameworthy of bullying. But past Mr Johnson declared that she had not breached the ministerial code.

Sir Christopher, a erstwhile backstage caput to the Queen, discontinue successful June 2022 aft concluding Mr Johnson whitethorn person breached ministerial rules implicit party-gate.

So Mr Sunak turned to Sir Laurie, a erstwhile merchant banker who served connected fractional a twelve quangos and whose agelong concern vocation progressive links with disgraced retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and the precocious tycoon Robert Maxwell.

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There was instantly contention due to the fact that Mr Sunak refused to springiness Sir Laurie the powerfulness to motorboat his ain investigations into allegations oregon ministerial wrong-doing. That changed erstwhile Sir Keir Starmer became PM past year.

But earlier then, Sir Laurie couldn't motorboat his ain enquiry into the behaviour of Dominic Raab implicit bullying allegations oregon Suella Braverman implicit claims of leaking and ignoring ineligible proposal implicit asylum.

The relation of autarkic advisor connected ministerial standards, to springiness Sir Laurie his authoritative title, was created by Tony Blair successful 2006. Ministers tin notation themselves for investigation, arsenic Tulip Siddiq and Angela Rayner some did.

Why was Sir Laurie chosen? A elder Square Mile insider told Sky News: "Laurie Magnus is precise overmuch a subordinate of the City's large and the good."

Sir Laurence Henry Philip Magnus, 3rd Baronet is the 3rd successful a baronetcy that dates backmost to 1917, erstwhile it was awarded to an ancestor who represented London University successful the House of Commons.

His quango CV includes the chairmanship of Historic England, a erstwhile trustee of the conservation foundation the Landmark Trust, ex-chair of the National Trust, rank of the Culture Recovery Fund, a trustee of English Heritage Trust and lawman seat of the All Churches Trust.

As Historic England boss, Sir Laurie entered the enactment implicit the tearing down of the statue of enslaved trader Edward Colston successful Bristol, claiming specified statues should not beryllium removed but person "counter-memorials" placed alongside them.

Besides his quango roles, Sir Laurie remains a large fig successful the City, arsenic a elder advisor astatine concern banking radical Evercore and chairing 2 FTSE 250 listed concern trusts.

Which means that the people disagreement betwixt the aged Etonian City grandee and the erstwhile store steward and champion of workers' rights whose destiny is successful his hands couldn't beryllium greater.