Rachel Reeves – latest: ‘Questions to answer’ over chancellor’s expenses says Labour MP as CV also under fire

The public faces a choice between better living standards or wanting farmers to keep their inheritance tax break, Sir Keir Starmer suggested.

Responding to a protest which took place while he visited a building site in Buckinghamshire, the Prime Minister said: “Yes there was a protest there, and to some extent that draws out quite an important discussion that we have to have as a country.”

The budget had to stabilise the UK’s finances, he insisted, which included “tough but right decisions” on national insurance contributions for businesses and ending the inheritance tax break for farmers.

Sir Keir told broadcasters: “These are political choices, but what you can’t have is interest rates coming down, the growth we need in the economy, your waiting lists coming down, and maintain the tax break for farmers.

“People watching this will understand that that is a choice. They will know what they would prefer.

“Do they want their waiting lists to come down, do they want their mortgages to come down, the economy to start working for everyone?

“That is what we are trying to achieve.

“Or do we want to give tax breaks for farmers? We can’t have both.”

Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh says there are “questions to be asked” regarding Rachel Reeves’ CV and allegations regarding historic expenses as revealed by the BBC today.

Ms McDonagh also twice described the incident as an “expenses scandal”.

Speaking to Jo Coburn on BBC Politics Live, McDonagh said: “We’ve got to be sure about what happened with the expenses scandal. As far as I’m aware she absolutely denies that she was approached by anybody about the expenses scandal”.

“So I think there’s still questions to be asked about what is going on and we’ll see what happens.”

Ms McDonagh also described the chancellor as “one of the most hardworking, honest politicians that I have ever met”.

The Government has announced new investment aimed at supporting clean energy manufacturing and skilled jobs.

Ministers said offshore wind developers can now bid for financial support if they drive investment in the UK’s most deprived regions.

Applications have opened for a so-called Clean Industry Bonus, offering financial support for offshore wind developers, on condition they prioritise their investment in areas including traditional oil and gas communities.

The support rewards developers who build more sustainable low-carbon factories, offshore wind blades, cables and ports to reduce industrial emissions across the clean energy supply chain.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “We are backing our proud manufacturing, coastal and oil and gas communities with good jobs, skills and private sector investment – delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.

“This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, kickstarting growth, delivering energy security and transforming towns and cities as part of the transition – from the ports of Nigg and Leith to the manufacturing hubs of Blyth and Hull.”

A Conservative MP has called for a debate about Cold War budgets last century amid US calls for Nato members to spend 5% of their GDP on defence.

Sir Julian Lewis, the MP for New Forest East, asked for a debate in Parliament about “trends in defence spending during and after the Cold War, so that both sides of the House will have the chance to appreciate that when one is involved in a serious confrontation, we should not be arguing about 2.5%, we should be arguing about a figure much nearer to the 5% that President (Donald) Trump – for once – is right to demand”.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell replied: “On defence spending, he will know this Government is absolutely committed to working towards 2.5% of GDP but he’s right to point out defence spending has been too low to meet the strategic needs of our country in this context.

“And in fact, he will also know that the last time government spending reached 2.5% of GDP on defence was under the last Labour government and it never reached there under his party’s.”

Our Whitehall Editor Kate Devlin reports:

Our Political Correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

Sir Keir Starmer has said that it is “really important that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position”.

“Nobody wants the conflict to continue and Ukrainians – more than anybody – want the conflict to end, but we must make sure Ukraine is at the heart of this.

“There can’t be negotiations around Ukraine without Ukraine being at the heart of it.

“And it’s really important that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position, whether that’s in discussions, or whether it’s continued fighting.

“Which is why I’ve been arguing since I’ve been Prime Minister that we need to ramp up the money, the capability and the training that we’re putting into Ukraine, and we’re delivering even more of that this year than we were last year.

“It’s really important: the strongest possible position for Ukraine. This has to be done with Ukraine.”

An “outstanding candidate” is being sought to take on a role which campaigners said must see the Government held to account over its engagement with the Windrush community.

The post of Windrush commissioner has been advertised as a three-day week role with an annual salary of £130,000 and for a three-year term.

Last October Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that, as per Labour’s manifesto, a commissioner would be appointed as she committed to a “fundamental reset of the response to this scandal”.

The Windrush scandal – which campaigners have since said should be known as the Home Office scandal – erupted in 2018 when British citizens were wrongly detained, deported or threatened with deportation despite having the right to live in Britain.

Many lost homes and jobs and were denied access to healthcare and benefits.

The job description published on Thursday, and open for applicants until March 20, states that the commissioner will work with the Home Office “to deliver long-awaited justice for the Windrush and Commonwealth communities, and to drive real and sustained cultural change across the department”.

Jeremy Crook, chief executive of Action for Race Equality, said the commissioner must have “the power and resources to engage with Windrush victims and community advocacy organisations, hold the Government to account and drive positive change”.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said the BBC’s investigation into Rachel Reeve’s online CV “raises serious questions”.

In a post on X (formally Twitter), Ms Badenoch said: “The BBC’s investigation raises serious questions for Rachel Reeves. Keir Starmer said ‘restoring trust in politics is the great test of our era’.

:Until she comes clean – not just about her CV but about the circumstances in which she left HBOS, no one will take him seriously.”

Along with its report into the chancellor’s online CV, the BBC also found Ms Reeves was investigated over her expenses while working as an economist at Halifax Bank of Scotland.

The Chancellor and two other senior managers spent hundreds of pounds on a company credit card designed for gifts to motivate other staff, according to the BBC investigation.

The report alleged the three managers were using the bank’s money to “fund a lifestyle” with allegedly inappropriate spending on dinners, events, taxis and gifts, including for each other.

The BBC reported that an initial independent investigation found the three appeared to have broken the rules.

A spokesman for Ms Reeves said the Chancellor had no knowledge of the investigation, always complied with expense rules and left the bank on good terms.