COMMENT: Angela always faced relentless scrutiny

ANGELA Rayner has been relentlessly attacked not just because of what she did, but because of who she is.

- By ROB WILLIAMS

Her resignation reveals just how uncomfortable Britain's elite still is with a woman who doesn't speak their language - or follow their rules.

A reverse version of the old Mrs Merton question springs to mind when looking at the relentless press scrutiny of the now-former deputy Prime Minister: what was it that first attracted the right-wing newspapers to the outspoken working class female MP Angela Rayner?

Rayner resigned from the Cabinet after an investigation by Keir Starmer's independent standards adviser found she had breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.

It was a mistake and a serious one, deserving scrutiny and censure. But it is difficult to ignore the sense that Rayner has been held to a higher standard than many of her colleagues, especially when viewed through the lens of class and gender.