Rachel Reeves 'should resign' if she has committed a criminal offence, Kemi Badenoch tells LBC amid rent row
The Tory leader's comments come after it was revealed the Chancellor is renting out her family home in Dulwich without the required license.
Kemi Badenoch has told LBC that Rachel Reeves should resign if she has committed a criminal offence.
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The Tory leader said the revelations that she hadn't got the proper licence for renting out her property were "shocking" and hit out at the PM for refusing to have an investigation.
Last night it was revealed that the Chancellor had not secured the private rented selective licence she needed from Southwark Council, and referred herself to the Parliamentary authorities and independent ethics adviser.
She's renting out her home in Dulwich after leaving to move into Downing Street last year.
Sources close to the Chancellor say that the letting agent she was using didn’t tell her it was necessary.
But it's not clear whether they asked her to provide it, or never mentioned it.
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Ms Badenoch spoke to LBC this morning in central London as she called on the Chancellor to quit if she raises taxes in the upcoming budget.
She said: "If she has committed a criminal offence, then yes, she should resign.
"It's really shocking and it's obvious why they don't want to have an investigation, because if an investigation would either clear her, if they thought she'd be cleared, then they'd be very happy to have an investigation.
"This woman is not on top of her paperwork and she's not able to focus on growing our economy, which is the job that she has.
"But Keir Starmer said that lawmakers shouldn't be lawbreakers. Those were his standards, his rules. He should apply them to his own front bench. It can't be one rule for them and then another rule for everyone else."
The prime minister said he'd spoken to Sir Laurie last night who advised that "further investigation is not necessary" in this case.
She has apologised and subsequently applied for a licence.
But she could get a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or an unlimiyed fine - if prosecuted in court.
Ms Badenoch said this morning that "high standards need to be embedded in public office" and that "people need to have faith in their politicians and that is something that I abide by".