Angela Rayner has promised to resign as deputy leader of the Labour Party if she is found to have committed an offence amid a row over the sale of her former council house home.
The Ashton-under-Lyne MP spoke out about the situation after Greater Manchester Police confirmed it was looking into claims Rayner gave false information about where she was living a decade ago.
Rayner, who denies the allegations, said: "I’ve repeatedly said I would welcome the chance to sit down with the appropriate authorities, including the police and HMRC, to set out the facts and draw a line under this matter.
"I am completely confident I’ve followed the rules at all times.
Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner launches the party's campaign for the May 2 local elections in the Dudley North
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"I have always said that integrity and accountability are important in politics. That’s why it’s important that this is urgently looked at, independently and without political interference.
"I make no apologies for having held Conservative ministers to account in the past.
"Indeed, the public would rightly expect me to do so as a Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
"We have seen the Tory Party use this playbook before – reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their record.
"I will say as I did before - if I committed a criminal offence, I would of course do the right thing and step down.
"The British public deserves politicians who know the rules apply to them.
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Angela Rayner has denied the allegations PA"The questions raised relate to a time before I was an MP and I have set out my family’s circumstances and taken expert tax and legal advice.
"I look forward to setting out the facts with the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity."
Labour's deputy leader broke her silence on the scandal after Sir Keir Starmer said he welcomed Greater Manchester Police's probe.
In a new statement, a GMP spokesperson said it was "investigating whether any offences have been committed".
The Leader of the Opposition claimed it would allow a "line to be drawn" on the issue.
However, Starmer was unable to say whether or not Rayner should quit if she is found to have broken the law.
He said: "I am fully confident that Angela Rayner has not broken the rules.
Greater Manchester police are said to be reassessing claims that Angela Rayner broke electoral law PA"She will cooperate with the investigation as you would expect."
Rayner has spent more than a month categorically denying the accusations.
She has instead been claiming that her "principal property" was a house in Stockport which meant she was living separately from her husband and children for the first few years of marriage.
A report by The Mail on Sunday put further pressure on Labour’s deputy leader after revealing Rayner posted a series of social media updates about her life with her children and cats at her husband's address.
Rayner purchased the property using Margaret Thatcher's right-to-buy scheme in 2007 and made £48,500 in profit when she sold the home eight years later.
The mother-of-three, who vocally called for Boris Johnson to resign after the ex-Prime Minister was fined during Scotland Yard’s Operation Hillman investigation, sparked further controversy after refusing to publish her tax details.
Rayner previously urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron and Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer to publish intimate tax details.