Chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted to accidentally breaking housing rules by renting out her London home without the specific licence required by the local council.
Per original reporting by the Daily Mail, Reeves has already admitted the error to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and to a parliamentary ethics officer.
“This was an inadvertent mistake. As soon as it was brought to my attention, we took immediate action and have applied for the licence,” she said.
“I sincerely apologise for this error and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.”
The BBC reports that Starmer has already dismissed calls for the Chancellor to be sacked over the issue and that, after consulting his independent ethics adviser, an investigation will not be held.
The issue comes at a poor time for both Reeves and Starmer, with the Chancellor set to deliver her upcoming Budget at the end of November. Reeves has already confirmed that she will announce tax hikes and is considering a number of options to address a growing shortfall.
A series of own goals
Starmer faced a mini-revolt in September as figures in Labour raised concerns about the judgment of the Prime Minister, who lost his deputy-leader, Angela Rayner, and was forced to fire the US Ambassador Peter Mandelson in the space of a week.
Several backbenchers directly questioned Mandelson’s appointment on social media and Starmer’s perceived poor judgment in appointing him.
Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester who is widely tipped to run again for the party leadership, said Sir Keir had questions to answer.
“I wasn’t privy to the vetting process, so I don’t know what was known at the time, and I think people will want to question that now in the hours and days ahead.”
This week, his government was embarrassed by the news that it had inadvertently released an illegal immigrant and convicted sex offender from jail just months into his term.
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