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The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party caused controversy earlier in 2021 after she defended her purchasing personalised Apple Airpods worth £249. According to sites that track MPs’ expenses claims, Ms Rayner has partially paid back some of the costs of her Apple purchases.
Website MPs’ Expenses says Ms Rayner was paid out £215,296.23 from February 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021.
Of this figure, £155,105 was spent on Ms Rayner’s total staffing budget payroll costs for the 2019-20 year.
According to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), Ms Rayner has claimed £52,401.51 in business costs
Under the Labour MP’s equipment purchases in “office costs”, IPSA said Ms Rayner claimed money on two purchases from Apple worth £1,619 and £417.
Under mobile telephone equipment purchases in “office costs”, Ms Rayner is found to have claimed seven purchases from Apple worth a total of £821.85.
However on IPSA’s website, Ms Rayner is shown to have made a repayment worth £256.24 on March 5.
Reports from Guido Fawkes hold these were for Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, and Smart Folio cases.
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It comes after Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway blasted Ms Rayner after the MP took the Government to task for not paying nurses more.
Ms Garraway said in March: “When you look at things and you look at ways, for instance, one of the things you’ve been accused of is putting in an expense claim for your AirPods.
“Now you might argue that that was necessary in a tech world when you’re trying to operate in lockdown.
“But it doesn’t look good and it’s very easy to point the finger isn’t it?”
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Ms Rayner defended the claim saying she used the £249 headphones for four hours a day during Zoom meetings.
She said the expense was “nowhere near the billions of pounds, that have been wasted on contracts to people with no experience whatsoever”.
The Deputy Labour Leader then added: “So my answer is that we wouldn’t mismanage the finances going forward we would ensure that the management of finances is prudent, as it should be.
“Because it’s taxpayers money and that we reward the workers that have been on the front line, putting their lives at risk, and give them the pay rise that they deserve.”
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