LONDON (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves is being investigated by parliament’s standards commissioner over a possible breach of rules requiring lawmakers to register their financial interests and benefits received, a parliamentary website showed.
An update to the site on Wednesday said the commissioner, who is responsible for monitoring the operation of the House of Commons code of conduct and registers of interests, had opened an investigation on April 29.
It listed the matter under investigation as “registration of interest”.
Lawmakers are expected to provide information about any financial interest or benefit they receive which others might reasonably consider to influence their actions or words.
“The Chancellor’s interests are fully declared and up to date,” a spokesperson for Reeves said in a statement.
No further details of the allegations against Reeves were provided, in line with the commissioner’s usual practice.
Complaints of this type often relate to a failure to declare an interest within the set 28-day window.
The current version of the register of interests on parliament’s website shows Reeves on December 27 received four tickets from the National Theatre for a performance, but these were not registered until March 27.
The same tickets appeared in a separate register for ministers published by the government in January.
In November, Prime Minister Keir Starmer set out a new code of conduct for ministers aimed at improving transparency after he was caught in a row over lawmakers accepting gifts such as clothes and Taylor Swift concert tickets.
There are currently three other lawmakers being investigated over their registration of interests. The fact that an inquiry is taking place does not mean that rules have been broken, the website stated.
If the complaint against Reeves is upheld, the commissioner could ask her to acknowledge and apologise for the breach, or, in more serious cases, refer it to a separate committee which can recommend sanctions.
Serious sanctions, such as suspension, must be approved by the House of Commons – parliament’s lower chamber.
(Reporting by William James, Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by David Milliken, Gareth Jones and Nick Zieminski)
