Former first minister Jack McConnell tells UK Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner to be 'as crystal clear as possible' over her tax affairs

Questions have been raised over whether Angela Rayner has avoided paying capital gains tax on her former council house

Former first minister and Labour peer Jack McConnell says Angela Rayner needs to be “as crystal clear as possible” over her tax affairs.

Lord Jack McConnell, of Glenscorrodale, said the deputy UK Labour leader needed to “get all the facts to the appropriate authorities” and then “into the public domain” to reassure the public that she had acted with integrity.

His comments come after questions were raised over whether Ms Rayner owes capital gains tax on her former council house, which she sold almost a decade ago.

UK Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner. Image: Jordan Pettitt/Press Association.

She bought her council house in Stockport in 2007 for £79,000 and was registered to vote there until 2015 when she sold the property for £127,500.

Speaking to BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Lord McConnell said: “I’ve said on a number of occasions about MPs and MSPs – whenever I was in these situations I found the best way to deal with them quickly is to determine all the facts.

“Sometimes you are aware of most of the facts yourself, but not all of them. Get all the facts to the appropriate authorities and if appropriate into the public domain to reassure people you have acted with integrity.

“That’s my advice to anyone in this situation, whether they are in Holyrood or Westminster, a government MP or an opposition MP. Be as crystal clear as possible on what has happened, and then be as open and transparent as possible.”

Former first minister and Labour peer Lord Jack McConnell of Glenscorrodale. Image: Helene Wiesenhaan/Getty Images.

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In 2010, Ms Rayner married her husband Mark. The Mail on Sunday has claimed Ms Rayner referred to her husband’s house as “home” while claiming her council house a mile away was her principal residence.

Had the council house on Vicarage Road no longer been her main residence, she should have been liable to pay capital gains tax on the £48,500 gain she made on the property.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has publicly backed Ms Rayner over questions about her tax affairs, and other frontbench Labour MPs have said this is a “smear” being used to distract from “Tory chaos”.