On Friday, Guido revealed that Reeves (or her team) had edited her LinkedIn CV. The changes were slipped out without notification: from “Economist” to “Retail Banking”…
Ever since, the debate has been raging as to whether the Chancellor has acted improperly. Downing Street has so far refused to comment on the details. After a botched defence broadcast round this morning pressure is growing…
Guido can now exclusively reveal that Reeves claimed she was an ‘economist’ on legal filings made during her time at HBOS. Reeves became a director of a Leeds-based charity on 15th May 2008, in the middle of her time in an HBOS retail banking complaints team (as her own team admit). Her friend Siôn Simon says he remembers her working in operations in Leeds at the time. On her appointment form (which is publicly available) – a formal submission to a government body – she states her current “business occupation” to be “Economist.” She appears to have filled in the form in her own handwriting – it also bears her signature in ink…
Reeves – by her own admission – was not working as an “economist” at the time – as clarified by the edits to her LinkedIn page. Treasury sources added on Friday that Reeves “worked in retail banking covering various areas drawing on her background as an economist.” Hacks were referred to this line by Downing Street yesterday. So, not an ‘economist’…
The document was officially submitted to Companies House. As Chancellor, this revelation leaves Reeves in an extremely difficult position…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”
