ANGELA Rayner has been snubbed from the National Security Council, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed.
The Deputy PM does not have a permanent seat on the government’s high-level committee – despite Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden making the cut.
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Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Defence Secretary John Healey and Attorney General Richard Hermer are also on the NSC.
The Sun revealed last month that Sue Gray had also been attending the secretive meetings until she was axed as chief of staff.
Ms Rayner has been given a position on the NSC Resilience sub-committee – a less exclusive group that is chaired by Mr McFadden rather than the PM.
Previous deputy PMs like Oliver Dowden, Dominic Raab, Damian Green and Nick Clegg had a full seat on the committee.
Ms Rayner has been dogged by reports of being sidelined by Sir Keir, which No10 has always denied.
The NSC is the most senior and secretive of Cabinet committees and is also attended by top military figures.
Its objective is to “consider the strategic approach to national security, foreign policy, resilience, international relations, economic security, trade, development, defence and global issues”.
Its membership was disclosed by the government today, having been updated for the first time since the election.
This newspaper revealed last month how the PM has insisted on a weekly audience with the heads of MI6, MI5, GCHQ, the Joint Intelligence Committee and Armed Forces.
With both Ukraine and the Middle East demanding attention, Sir Keir is holding meetings after Cabinet every Tuesday.
Ms Rayner chairs the Cabinet committee on the “future of work”.
