GB News presenters Martin Daubney and Christopher Hope tore Angela Rayner apart live on air following her explosive severance payment scandal. On Thursday (July 23), the Labour MP confirmed that she will not repay a £16,876 ministerial severance payment after making her return to the Cabinet.
The politician resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary in September 2025 after failing to pay sufficient tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove, resulting in an exit payout. On Monday (July 20), the politician was reappointed as housing secretary by the new Labour leader, Andy Burnham, sparking backlash from the Conservatives, who urged her to return the money.
In her first interview since returning to her government position, the new MP was pressed about whether she would return the severance money. Speaking to Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live, she said: "No, my severance payment was given to me at the time, I had worked in government for a period of time, and then I came out of government for just under a year. I will be delivering in government again."
GB News Presenters React
The daytime broadcasters certainly didn't hold back as they tore apart the MP shortly after they announced the breaking news on the 24-hour show. Mr Hope fumed: "She received £17,000 as a payoff; she lost her job over her tax affairs, and she says she's been cleared of them by an accountant."
"This is the same person who said politicians should have 'a staggering lack of shame' in 2023 when money was being chucked at Tory ministers for quitting after a short period in office. What you get if you're a minister is 25% of your annual salary paid if you leave after three months, and she has got the money. She won't repay it. You might think it's a moral duty to repay it, but she hasn't and that I think is going to a problem for her. 'A staggering lack of shame' from the Tories, she said back in 2023. Well, now she's doing it again. The Tories will be saying, I think this is also 'a staggering lack of shame'."
The presenter referenced Rayner's comments in 2023, when she told the press there was "a staggering lack of shame" among the Tories after it was revealed that former ministers, many of whom returned to the front bench, were paid over £450,000 in severance packages.
Martin Daubney's Warning
Meanwhile, Martin pointed out: "People look at this and think it's one rule for thee and one rule for me. She's got off scot-free over the stamp duty, it was £40,00 but there's not a mention of that. That went away, she got whisked back into her old job, she was paid off to leave her old job, and now she's got it back and won't return the money."
"A lot of people will look at this and just think, 'They're all the same. Their snouts are in the trough'. This is taxpayers' money we're talking about. It stinks, and that is why it's so upsetting. But she's following the rules, there's been no rules broken here, but should she morally hang on to £17,000 after getting the same job back she had a year ago? Were she in our position, where there's a Tory or a Reform UK or a Lib Dem minister, she'd be all over it."
The broadcaster concluded his thoughts with a warning to the new Prime Minister. He predicted: "I think Angela Rayner is going to be an omnipresent, continual thorn in the side of this government, I really do. It's going to be a disaster waiting to happen."
Viewer Reactions
It didn't take long for viewers to flock to X - formerly known as Twitter - to share their concerns online. One user penned: "Politicians have always been there to serve themselves. They are snakeoil salesmen." Another fumed: "She shouldn't have been given it in the first place. Starmer paid off his mate before the date lapsed!!" A third quipped: "They are all in it for what they can get out of it!"
