Ashton-under-Lyne and Failsworth MP Angela Rayner took on Dominic Raab at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday afternoon (16 March).

The deputy leader of the Labour Party faced the deputy prime minister at the despatch box in the House of Commons as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss energy security and other issues. 

Ms Rayner asked for a review into the government's handling of the detainment of charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is on her way home following nearly six years of detention in Iran after being arrested in 2016 on charges of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, which she denies.

In response, Mr Raab - the former foreign secretary who is now the justice secretary - said the government has "done absolutely everything that we can". 

Ms Rayner then asked whether the PM intervened to ensure Russian-born businessman Lord Lebedev's peerage, which Mr Raab dismissed as "sheer nonsense". 

Probing further, Labour's deputy leader quizzed how Mr Johnson's "close friend and now Lord Lebedev" was granted a peerage. Mr Raab responded by saying peerages are vetted by the House of Lords appointments commission. 

Ms Rayner went on to claim that "we have this sorry excuse of a government" when "these uncertain times require leadership with integrity". Mr Raab accused Ms Rayner of being in "a social media echo chamber". 

In her sixth and final question, Ms Rayner said that Mr Johnson has gone "cap in hand from one dictator to another" to Saudi Arabia. In response, Mr Raab referred to the Novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018 and accused ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of "siding with Putin". 

You can watch the full exchange here:

How many times has Angela Rayner done PMQs?

It was the fifth time that Ms Rayner has taken part in PMQs.

She became the first ever Tameside MP to be involved in the set-piece event of the Parliamentary week in September 2020 when she faced Mr Johnson.

Ms Rayner then took on Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab in September 2021, which included some lively clashes over cost of living rises.

At the start of November 2021, she questioned the prime minister on MPs’ standards rules and political corruption, projected tax increases for households over the next five years, and support for servicemen and women and Army veterans.  

Then in the first Prime Minister's Questions of 2022, Ms Rayner - standing in for leader Sir Keir Starmer who had Covid-19 - quizzed the prime minister about rising inflation, how he planned to "get a grip" on the cost of living and urged the chancellor to cut VAT on energy bills. 

What is PMQs?

Prime Minister's Question Time, also referred to as PMQs, takes place every Wednesday the House of Commons sits. It gives MPs the chance to put questions to the Prime Minister.

In most cases, the session starts with a routine 'open question' from an MP about the Prime Minister's engagements. MPs can then ask supplementary questions on any subject, often one of current political significance.

The Leader of the Opposition asks six questions and the leader of the second largest opposition party asks two.