No 10 refuses to say if ethics adviser saw proof Reeves’s rental breach was ‘inadvertent’

Downing Street has refused to say whether Keir Starmer’s adviser on ministerial conduct has seen any evidence to support Rachel Reeves’s claim she made an “inadvertent” mistake in failing to get a licence to rent out her south London home. As pressure mounted on the chancellor, despite the prime minister saying an apology should end the matter, No 10 also declined to say whether Reeves contravened the ministerial code or had broken the law in breaching Southwark council rules. In an exchange of letters with Starmer late on Wednesday, Reeves said that when she rented out the house she had not been told by the lettings agency that homes in that area needed a £945 licence before they were rented out. In his reply, Starmer said that having consulted his independent adviser on ministerial interests, Laurie Magnus, he was satisfied the breach was “inadvertent” and that given her prompt action once she knew about the licence, an apology was sufficient. Related: What has Rachel Reeves done wrong – and how serious are things for her? Pressed repeatedly at a media briefing whether Magnus had seen any evidence to back up Reeves’s case or had simply taken the chancellor at her word, a Downing Street spokesperson refused to say, noting that Magnus’s advice was always confidential. “The chancellor rightly acted with urgency on this matter,” he said. “She has set out that it was an inadvertent mistake, and as soon as it was brought to her attention, took immediate action, applying for the licence and speaking to the independent adviser on ministerial standards. “She made the prime minister aware of this issue at the earliest opportunity, at which point he immediately sought advice from the independent adviser, who has advised that in the light of the chancellor’s prompt action to rectify the position, including her apology, that further investigation is not necessary. The ministerial code makes clear that in certain circumstances, an apology is a sufficient resolution.” Asked again what evidence Magnus had seen, the spokesperson repeated the same lines several more times. Asked by one reporter whether Magnus had “done a stitch-up with the prime minister very quickly to avoid upsetting the markets”, the spokesperson replied: “I don’t accept the framing of that at all,” adding that Magnus’s role was an independent one. The spokesperson declined to say, when questioned, whether Reeves’s actions were considered a breach of the ministerial code, or if she might have broken the law. He did indicate, however, that if Reeves was found to have broken the law she would lose her job. Asked if Starmer stood by his argument following Boris Johnson’s fine for breaching Covid rules that “lawbreakers cannot be lawmakers”, he said: “Yes.” Reeves’s error is all the more uncomfortable given that 10 days ago she tweeted praise for Leeds council, where she has her constituency, for extending its selective landlord licensing policy, the same policy she fell foul of in Southwark. Speaking earlier on Thursday, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said it was up to Reeves to have been on top of the necessary paperwork and that she must be sacked if she had broken any laws. “I think that the more I hear about the story, the more questions there are to answer,” the Conservative leader told reporters after a speech on London’s South Bank. The rules about the licence originated in a 2004 law brought in by Labour, Badenoch said, adding that Reeves had “tweeted about how it should be extended, and yet she wasn’t following it herself”. Badenoch said: “It’s all very well blaming someone else – the lettings agent didn’t do this, or that she is the chancellor. She needs to be on top of her paperwork. She was aware of this legislation. I think there should be an investigation. “But the bottom line is that Keir Starmer said again and again, that lawbreakers shouldn’t be lawmakers. So if she’s broken the law, then he should apply his own rules to her.” Reeves admitted having rented out her home after moving into Downing Street following the election without the licence required by Southwark after it was first disclosed by the Daily Mail. A spokesperson said the chancellor had used a lettings agency to manage the process, and that while she should have been aware of the obligation to buy the licence, she had not been advised that she needed one. “She had not been made aware of the licensing requirement, but as soon as it was brought to her attention she took immediate action and has applied for the licence,” Reeves’s spokesperson said. The four-bedroom detached house had been advertised for rent at £3,200 a month last year, the Daily Mail and the BBC reported, and Reeves has noted rental income on her record of parliamentary interests since September 2024. The controversy could be a gift to Badenoch and other opposition politicians, who were already targeting Reeves before next month’s budget. Badenoch spoke to reporters in London, where she and the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, said Reeves should be sacked if she tried to raise taxes at the budget, as is being considered.