A whistleblower's report has raised concerns about Chancellor Rachel Reeves' expenses during her time as a customer relations manager at HBOS in 2009. 

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Specifically, it alleges that Reeves claimed expenses for a bottle of champagne intended for a junior colleague, who later denied receiving it.

It follows a series of revelations by the BBC about an investigation into Reeves and two other senior managers at HBOS who were said to have used expenses to “fund a lifestyle” of dinners, events, taxis and gifts.

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Reeves claimed £29.93 in expenses for a bottle of champagne

According to the documents seen by The Times, concerns were raised about Reeves’ use of expenses to buy a bottle of Moët and Chandon for another more junior colleague working in the department.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves allegedly claimed £29.93 ($37.70) in expenses for a bottle of champagne purchased at a Tesco store in Leeds, alongside her groceries. The expense claim categorised the champagne as "colleague entertaining and incentives", despite the intended recipient reportedly denying receipt of the gift.

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The same expense claim also shows Reeves billed the company £9.40 ($11.84) for sweets for her team, £4.92 ($6.20) for biscuits for an away day and £1.34 ($1.69) for a birthday card.

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Internal emails obtained alongside the whistleblower's report show that a staff member questioned the champagne purchase, prompting an investigation into whether the intended recipient had received the gift.

In an email sent in early January 2009, the colleague in question denied receiving the champagne as a reward, jokingly stating they had received gratitude but "no Moët" for their efforts. This response came seven weeks after Reeves had purchased the champagne.

What did Reeves's spokesperson say?

A spokesperson for Reeves told The Times that she was unaware of the claims that had been made against her or any investigation into her expenses.

“Rachel is proud of the work she did at HBOS and the teams that she led; it is 16 years since she left the bank and the first time she was made aware of these claims was when approached by journalists. She was not aware of an investigation nor was she interviewed, and she did not face any disciplinary action on this or any other matters. All expenses were submitted and signed off in the proper way. Several former colleagues from her time at the bank, including HBOS’ former HR business partner, have corroborated this account. Rachel left HBOS in 2009 on good terms.”

(With inputs from agencies)