Angela Rayner has made her first public appearance since a row broke out over her tax affairs – as the Deputy Prime Minister attended a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street.
Ms Rayner stepped out of her car in pair of eye-catching sunglasses paired with green flares and a cream double-breasted jacket as she made her way to Number 10 on Tuesday morning.
It comes amid continued criticism of her purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove, with the Conservatives calling for her to face an ethics inquiry over her tax affairs relating to the purchase.
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, is reported to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the flat because she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, meaning the Hove property is the only property she owns.
However, Ms Rayner also previously indicated the Greater Manchester home remains her primary residence, according to the Telegraph, saving some £2,000 in council tax on her grace and favour home in central London at Admiralty House.
The Mail On Sunday reported she split the ownership of her £650,000 constituency home with a trust administered by law firm Shoosmiths.
The newspaper suggested the legal manoeuvre would be consistent with Ms Rayner placing some of the house's equity in trust for her three children, but the Tories questioned whether the move was intended to avoid potential inheritance tax liabilities.
Allies of Ms Rayner rejected the suggestion the move had anything to do with inheritance tax.
Ms Rayner divorced her husband and no longer owns a stake in the Greater Manchester home but still considers it her primary residence because her children live there.
In an interview on Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended his deputy against criticism of her tax affairs.
He told the BBC's Matt Chorley it was a "mistake" for people to brief against or talk down Ms Rayner amid headlines about her flat purchase.
Describing her appointment as Deputy Prime Minister as "an incredible achievement", Sir Keir said: "Angela came from a very humble background, battled all sorts of challenges along the way, and there she is proudly - and I'm proud of her - as our Deputy Prime Minister."
Adding that the country should be "proud" of Ms Rayner, he said: "What a great story of British success that we are a country where Angela Rayner could be our Deputy Prime Minister."
The Ashton-under-Lyne MP was a teenage single mother who left school with no qualifications and later became a council care worker.
The Cabinet meeting comes a day after Sir Keir reshuffled his Downing Street team, moving the Chancellor's deputy, Darren Jones, into a new role as chief secretary to the Prime Minister.
Sir Keir also brought in Baroness Minouche Shafik, a former Bank of England deputy governor, as his chief economic adviser and senior Treasury mandarin Dan York-Smith as his principal private secretary.
The reshuffle has been seen as a sign the Prime Minister is seeking to boost Number 10's economic firepower ahead of the budget this autumn, leading to the suggestion that Chancellor Rachel Reeves's role has been diminished.
But speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper denied that the Chancellor had been "sidelined", insisting the situation was "quite the reverse".
She said: "I think the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have always worked extremely closely together and continue to do so."
