Penny Mordaunt and Angela Rayner were all smiles minutes after a heated exchange over taxes at Friday’s election debate.
The pair clashed repeatedly during the 90-minute discussion, broadcast by the BBC, with the Tory Commons leader appearing to focus her attacks on Labour’s deputy leader rather than the rest of the seven party representatives.
After a shouting match over Ms Mordaunt’s claim that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000 – which Ms Rayner described as a “lie” – the pair shared a friendly handshake and a smile as the debate went off the air.
