Furious Question Time clash erupts as Fiona Bruce shut down over Rachel Reeves blunder | Politics | News

Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce demanded “don’t put these words in my mouth” during a furious row as the show discussed Rachel Reeves’ “criminal” house rental arrangement. Ms Bruce clashed with Conservative MP and former minister Graham Stuart after he highlighted the Chancellor’s failure to obtain the necessary license before renting his family’s home. The argument then escalated into a shouting match when he accused Ms Bruce of taking sides, saying she had come to Ms Reeves’ defence.

Mr Stuart said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer committed a criminal offense by collecting rent for a year without a licence. First of all it was a license he didn’t know about… then it turned out not one but two agents had told them this.” Mrs. Bruce interrupted him and said: “Wait, wait.”

He complained that the show had “gone off-topic” as guests were required to discuss the accidental release of a sex offender and whether Justice Minister David Lammy was responsible.

The presenter later said: “The real estate agent in the Rachel Reeves case basically said it was our fault.”

But Mr Stuart said that by law the landlord was responsible for this, not the estate agent.

And then he added: “How come anyone in this audience has been prosecuted for a crime, but if you’re the Chancellor of the Exchequer, apparently even you at the BBC are saying ‘no, it was someone else’s fault, they just broke a rule’.”

Mrs Bruce said: “Wait, Graham Stuart!”

He added: “Please don’t put these words in my mouth.”

But Mr Stuart said: “We all heard what you said, Fiona.”

The Chancellor blamed an “inadvertent error” for failing to obtain a £900 license before renting his property in Dulwich, south-east London, for £3,200 a month. The local authority, Southwark Council, used its powers under the Housing Act 2004 to make licensing compulsory for landlords.

But the letting agency involved in Ms Reeves’ rental arrangements insisted she had told her she needed a licence.

This contradicted Ms Reeves’ claim that in a letter to the Prime Minister she said: “Unfortunately we were not aware that a license was required and therefore were unable to obtain a license without moving the property outside.”

The firm also said it apologized to Ms Reeves and her husband, who offered to apply for a license on their behalf but were unsuccessful. But he stressed that it was the landlord’s responsibility to ensure the license was in force.

Gareth Martin, owner of Harvey Wheeler, said: “We warn all our customers about the need for a licence.”

He added: “Unfortunately, as we do not normally apply for licenses on behalf of our customers, the lack of application has not been corrected by us; the responsibility for the application lies with them. We have apologized to the owners for this carelessness.”

Mr Martin said: “Our customers were under the impression that a license had been applied for. Although it was not our responsibility to apply, we offered to help with this.”

In a new letter, Ms Reeves told the Prime Minister: “I accept that licensing is our responsibility.” He added: “As I told you today, I am sorry for this matter and accept full responsibility.”