Angela Rayner 'would back' Andy Burnham to become Labour's next leader in return for getting deputy PM job back
Sources close to Mr Burnham claim the pair have "done a deal"
Angela Rayner is said to have "done a deal" to back Andy Burnham as the next Labour leader in return to become Deputy Prime Minister again.
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Ms Rayner, who stepped down from Labour in September after she was found to have breached the ministerial code by failing to pay the correct stamp duty on her flat.
But sources claim the 45-year-old has agreed to support Mr Burnham if he is to launch his own leadership bid against Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Rayner is believed to be line for a return to Deputy PM as well as an unspecified senior Cabinet position if it goes ahead.
It comes weeks after Sir Keir said the "hugely talented" Ms Rayner will return to his Cabinet.
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Mr Burnham, the current mayor of Greater Manchester, is said to be searching for a "safe" Labour seat in the north of England to allow him to gain a seat in the Commons and challenge the Prime Minister.
He previously held talks with Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden over his seat, which he holds with a 20,245 majority, but the Daily Mail reported these led nowhere.
A Labour MP close to Mr Burnham said: "My understanding is that the deal has been done.
"Angie would go back to being deputy and get a plum Cabinet job."
However, a spokesman for Mr Burnham dismissed reports of a deal with Ms Rayner or approaches to sitting Labour MPs as "rubbish."
A source close to Ms Rayner said: "There is no vacancy and there is no pact."