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Chancellor accused of 'deception' after changing qualifications

November 16, 2024
In her Mansion House speech on Ms Reeves, pictured, told guests: ‘Before entering politics, I worked as an economist at the Bank of England. And then in financial services.’

When Rachel Reeves acknowledged that she was not an economist while working at the Bank of Scotland, she made changes to her online resume.The Chancellor's LinkedIn work experience during her tenure at the bank from 2006 to 2009 was changed from "economist" to "retail banking." The Conservatives accused her of "deception" and called her "economical with the truth" as a result of the move. "I was an economist at the Bank of England before I entered politics," Ms. Reeves said to the audience during her Thursday night speech at the Mansion House. Afterwards, in the financial sector.Her LinkedIn CV - which had previously said that she was an economist at the Bank of Scotland has now been updated to say she was in ‘Retail Banking’, the Guido Fawkes political website noted.

It previously reported that she worked in a support department at the Bank of Scotland which managed administration, IT and planning matters.A Labour source said: ‘Ms Reeves worked in retail banking covering various areas drawing on her background as an economist. Her LinkedIn has been updated to reflect that.’

The source said she had held several different roles at the bank but would not clarify her job title.A Tory party source told the Mail: ‘It seems Rachel Reeves employment history claims are about as accurate as her promises not to raise taxes on working people - based on deception and increasingly proved false.’Shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick said: ‘Reeves said she was an economist. Turns out she’s just economical with the truth.’

Ms Reeves began her career at the Bank of England and worked there between 2000 and 2006, including a secondment in Washington.

She then moved to Leeds to work for the retail arm of Halifax Bank of Scotland before becoming an MP.She became known as the ‘copy and paste chancellor’ after she apologised for plagiarising other authors in a book she claimed to have written.

Ms Reeves made much of her experience as an economist ahead of the Budget, saying she would not play fast and loose with public money.