Labour embroiled in ANOTHER housing row after Defence Secretary John Healey failed to pay council tax on Westminster flat

A spokesman for Mr Healey blamed the underpayment on the local authority, after it was established he paid only half as much for this tax year.

Following new legislation brought in earlier this year, the Cabinet minister is supposed to pay £2,938 in tax to the local authority annually for the flat, which he is understood to use for work.

However, he rectified the mistake yesterday, Thursday, only after being contacted by reporters about it.

It is the latest in a series of housing scandals surrounding senior Labour MPs, including former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and former Homelessness Minister Rushanara Ali.

Ms Rayner failed to pay a £40,000 stamp duty bill on the purchase of a flat in Hove, while Ms Ali was accused of evicting her tenants and then re-listing the east London property at a higher rent.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to admit that she had broken rules for landlords when letting out her London home without a licence last month, blaming the oversight on her letting agents.

Reform UK,'s Laila Cunningham told The Telegraph: "As a Westminster councillor, I see residents chased for far smaller sums.

"Yet a Cabinet minister underpays thousands and only fixes it when journalists ring. It’s the same old story, the people in charge don’t live under the rules they impose on everyone else."

Conservative Chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: "Whether it’s the anti-corruption minister being investigated for corruption, the homelessness minister who evicted her own tenants, or the housing secretary who failed to pay her stamp duty, with this Government it is one rule for them and another for everyone else.

"Healey needs to come clean about what he knew and when. If we cannot trust senior ministers to keep their own tax affairs in order, how can we trust them to run the country?"

MPs whose constituencies lie outside London are entitled to claim for either a home in the capital or their constituency home, including council tax and utilities.

The Defence Secretary owns his main home in his constituency of Rawmarsh and Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, where he lives with his wife, and began letting a Westminster flat last November.

Sources told the Telegraph he ticked a box that declared the flat as a second home.

However, Westminster Council failed to classify the property as a second home and issued an incorrect bill.

A spokesman for Mr Healey told the Telegraph: "The Secretary of State fulfilled all his obligations as a tenant by notifying Westminster council of the second home status of the tenancy on the council tax registration form when the tenancy began.

"Westminster council made an administrative error which failed to classify it as a second home for council tax purposes, and led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued.

"The council have accepted fault and apologised for the error.

"Westminster council have rectified this mistake and the council tax liability, including the second homes surcharge, on the London flat has been paid in full."

A council spokesman added: “The Secretary of State filled in the form correctly and registered the address as a second home.

"There was an oversight by the council, and we did not register it as a second home.

"This led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued. We apologise for the error."