Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing a fresh headache over her online CV after an administrative error made it seem she worked at the Bank of England for longer than she did
Rachel Reeves is facing a fresh headache over her online CV after an administrative error by a staff member.
The Chancellor, who has previously come under fire over the accuracy of her LinkedIn profile, is accused of adding nine months to her stint at the bank. Her profile appears to have been changed after a member of her team confirmed that her dates were incorrect.
According to the BBC, Ms Reeves’ profile had said she worked at the Bank of England from September 2000 to December 2006. But it emerged that she actually left by March 2006 when she started working for Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) in West Yorkshire.
The BBC published a photo of her with HBOS staff at a lunch in March 2006. Her profile on the professional networking site now says she finished working at the Bank of England in March 2006.
The Mirror understands a staff member created Ms Reeves’ online CV and accidentally made the error. Downing Street threw its weight behind her, saying Keir Starmer believes she can be trusted and has no concerns about her conduct.
Ms Reeves has been accused of exaggerating her time at the Bank of England in speeches, where she pointed to her background as an economist. At various times she has referenced working at the Bank for the “best part of a decade”. In total, she worked there for over half a decade – five and a half years.
Ms Reeves, who made history when she became the first female Chancellor, previously faced questions about the details on her CV about her time at HBOS. Her LinkedIn profile said she had been an economist there but she later changed it to clarify that her role was in retail banking.
Asked whether the Prime Minister still thought she had integrity after she updated her career history on LinkedIn, his official spokesman said: “Yes. The Chancellor and the Prime Minister are working hand in hand to deliver on the priorities, the plan for change, and to deliver the higher growth and the improvements in living standards that the country needs.”
When questions arose over the HBOS details on Ms Reeves’ profile, a spokeswoman for the PM said: “The Prime Minister is very clear that what is most important is having a chancellor who is able to balance the books and who is able to be straight with the public and restore the public finances.”