Starmer tells Reeves she faces no further action over 'inadvertent failure' to get rental licence

Sir Keir Starmer has said Rachel Reeves volition look nary further enactment implicit her "inadvertent failure" to get a rental licence for her southbound London home.

It follows a turbulent 24 hours for the chancellor, successful which she was accused of breaking the instrumentality and the Conservatives called for her to resign oregon beryllium sacked.

In a missive published connected Thursday night, the premier minister said correspondence shared by the chancellor "shows that the oversight regarding the licence occurred aft your hubby had been told by the property agents that they would use for a licence connected his behalf".

However, the exertion "did not occur".

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Sir Keir continued: "It is intelligibly regrettable that the accusation successful this correspondence was not shared with maine erstwhile you wrote to maine past night, but I afloat judge that you were not aware, astatine that stage, of these emails.

"I recognize that the applicable emails were lone unearthed by your hubby this morning, and that you person updated maine arsenic soon arsenic possible."

The PM past labelled the incidental "an inadvertent failure" and said helium sees "no need" for further action.

The authorities has besides published a missive from Sir Laurie Magnus, an autarkic advisor connected ministerial standards, to Sir Keir.

He wrote: "It is regrettable that accusation provided connected successive days has generated confusion, but I find nary grounds of atrocious faith."

The letters came aft Ms Reeves had received an apology from a lettings bureau aft the institution confirmed it offered to use for a rental licence and past failed to bash so.

On Wednesday evening, the Daily Mail reported Ms Reeves had failed to wage for a "selective" licence erstwhile renting retired her household location successful Dulwich, southbound London, which she has near portion surviving successful Downing Street arsenic chancellor.

In an speech of letters a substance of hours later, Sir Keir Starmer gave the chancellor his backing and said further probe into the contented was "not necessary" aft consulting his autarkic morals advisor Sir Laurie Magnus.

Ms Reeves instantly faced calls to permission her post, having admitted to mistakenly breaching section assembly lodging rules by failing to unafraid the licence.

The Housing Act 2004 gives councils the powerfulness to marque landlords accredit themselves successful definite areas.

However, precocious connected Thursday afternoon, the proprietor of lettings bureau Harvey and Wheeler released an apology to the chancellor.

In it, brag Gareth Martin confirmed a subordinate of his unit said they would use for the licence for the Reeves household - but this was ne'er done, arsenic the idiosyncratic "suddenly resigned" anterior to the commencement of the tenancy.

Mr Martin said: "We alert each our clients to the request for a licence. In an effort to beryllium adjuvant our erstwhile spot manager offered to use for a licence connected these clients' behalf, arsenic shown successful the correspondence. That spot manager abruptly resigned connected the Friday earlier the tenancy began connected the pursuing Monday.

"Unfortunately, the deficiency of exertion was not picked up by america arsenic we bash not usually use for licences connected behalf of our clients; the onus is connected them to apply. We person apologised to the owners for this oversight.

"At the clip the tenancy began, each the applicable certificates were successful spot and if the licence had been applied for, we person nary uncertainty it would person been granted.

"Our clients would person been nether the content that a licence had been applied for. Although it is not our work to apply, we did connection to assistance with this.

"We profoundly regret the contented caused to our clients arsenic they would person been nether the content that a licence had been applied for."

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The authorities has published emails betwixt her hubby Nicholas Joicey and the bureau showing that Harvey and Wheeler had agreed to use for the licence, portion Ms Reeves told the premier curate successful a missive she took "full responsibility" for the matter.

The last email successful the series, sent connected 13 August 2024 by the letting agent, said: "I volition bash the selective licence erstwhile the caller tenant moves in."

In the missive from Ms Reeves to Sir Keir, the chancellor said: "Yesterday I wrote to you and said that we were not alert that a licence was indispensable to fto retired our property, based connected conversations my hubby had with the bureau yesterday.

"Today the letting bureau and my hubby person recovered correspondence confirming that connected 17 July 2024 the letting cause said to my hubby that a selective licence would beryllium required and agreed that the bureau would use for the licence connected our behalf.

"They person besides confirmed contiguous they did not instrumentality the exertion forward, successful portion owed to a subordinate of unit leaving the organisation. Nevertheless, arsenic I said yesterday, I judge it was our work to unafraid the licence.

"I besides instrumentality work for not uncovering this accusation yesterday and bringing it to your attention.

"As I said to you today, I americium atrocious astir this substance and judge afloat work for it."

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The Conservatives are calling for further investigations from Downing Street into what happened and the timeline of events.

However, it appears that Number 10 considers the substance closed arsenic it has consistently stood down the chancellor - and says she volition present adjacent month's budget.