LONDON (AP) — U.K. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves has apologized for breaking the law by renting out her London house without a license.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would not take action over what Reeves called an inadvertent mistake.
Reeves and her family moved out of their south London home and into a government-owned apartment next to the prime minister’s Downing Street residence after the Labour Party was elected in July 2024.
The Daily Mail newspaper reported late Wednesday that Reeves did not have a rental license, as required by the local authority in the area. Landlords who don’t have a license can be prosecuted or fined.
In a letter to Starmer, published by the prime minister’s office, Reeves said it was “an inadvertent mistake. As soon as it was brought to my attention, we took immediate action and have applied for the license.”
Starmer replied that he had consulted the government’s ethics adviser, who had concluded that “further investigation is not necessary.”
“I am satisfied that this matter can be drawn to a close following your apology,” he wrote.
The real estate agency Reeves used apologized Thursday for its “oversight” in not applying for a license after promising to do so.
“We deeply regret the issue caused to our clients as they would have been under the impression that a license had been applied for," said Gareth Martin, owner of the firm Harvey Wheeler.
The statement came after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said “the whole thing stinks,” and demanded Starmer launch a full investigation.
Reeves is already under pressure over the public finances as she prepares to deliver her annual budget statement on Nov. 26.
The Labour Party government has struggled to deliver the economic growth it promised. Inflation remains stubbornly high and the economic outlook subdued, frustrating efforts to repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living.
Reeves has indicated she may abandon a preelection promise not to raise income tax or sales tax, arguing that the economy is in a worse state than previously thought after 14 years of Conservative government.
Starmer has already lost members of his government to scandal.
In September, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned after failing to pay enough tax on a home purchase. Days later, Starmer fired Britain’s high-profile ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves walks to the G20 meeting during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
