An investigation into “allegations of ‘insider trading’ before the recent collapse in the value of the pound against the US Dollar” is being pressed on the Treasury select committee’s Conservative chairman.
Senior Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle, a member of the select committee, has written to chair Mel Stride requesting the cross-party group investigate any meetings held between financial traders and the chancellor and prime minister – before and after the mini-budget last week.
In her letter, she writes: “Any suggestion or suspicion of private individuals using privileged access to profiteer from our country’s economic difficulties must be fully investigated.”
Her letter has been signed by 31 Labour MPs.
It is the latest of several demands for investigations that have been made in recent days.
Yesterday, Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: “While struggling homeowners saw their mortgage bills spiral, it seems the chancellor was sipping champagne with hedge fund managers profiting from the falling pound.
“How out of touch can you get? We need an official inquiry into this now.”
Last week, shadow treasury minister Tulip Siddiq called on the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether “leaks” of last week’s mini-budget “contributed to the crash of the pound.”