'I like Angie a lot': Starmer 'absolutely' wants Rayner back in cabinet

Sir Keir Starmer has said helium "absolutely" wants Angela Rayner backmost successful his furniture aft she resigned for failing to wage the close magnitude of stamp duty.

Speaking from the G20 Summit successful South Africa, the premier curate told broadcasters his erstwhile lawman is "the champion illustration ever" of societal mobility and helium is inactive successful interaction with her.

Asked if she could marque a comeback this broadside of a wide election, Sir Keir said: "I've ever said I privation Angela back. Even backmost successful September astatine the clip I said she is going to beryllium a large dependable successful the Labour movement.

"Do I privation Angela backmost astatine immoderate stage? Yes absolutely.

"I deliberation she is the champion illustration ever successful the United Kingdom of societal mobility - going from a beauteous challenging puerility to being lawman premier curate of the United Kingdom. She is the communicative of societal mobility supra each different stories."

Asked if helium missed having her around, Sir Keir said: "I’m friends with Angie and I similar Angie a batch and we speech a lot. We inactive do.

"It's ever bully to person Angela."

Ms Rayner's meteoric emergence to the apical of Labour came aft she near schoolhouse aged 16, large and with nary qualifications.

She was elected lawman Labour person by the rank successful 2020, and was made lawman premier curate past lodging caput by Sir Keir.

She resigned from each of those positions successful September, aft it emerged she had not paid the higher complaint of stamp work connected a 2nd location she bought successful Hove, East Sussex, redeeming her astir £40k.

It followed a tearful interrogation with Sky's governmental exertion Beth Rigby astir the "complex surviving arrangement" regarding her archetypal home, which was sold to a spot pursuing her divorcement to supply stableness for her teenage son, who has lifelong disabilities and is the sole beneficiary of the trust.

An probe by the premier curate ethic's watchdog recovered she breached the ministerial codification by failing to get close taxation advice, but that she acted "with integrity".

Ms Rayner is inactive a backbench MP and precocious did not regularisation retired a instrumentality to the beforehand seat herself - telling the Daily Mirror during a sojourn to a attraction centre successful her constituency that she had "not gone away".

Other furniture ministers person besides supported her return.

During the Labour Party Conference a fewer weeks aft she resigned, Health Secretary Wes Streeting paid tribute to her enactment connected the Employment Rights Bill and said Labour "wants her backmost and needs her back".