Labour has accused ministers and advisers of treating “the public purse as a personal cashpoint”, saying a spate of recent reports about alleged conflicts of interest highlighted the need for a truly independent arbiter of the ministerial code. In an urgent question about the ministerial code and the long-delayed publication of an update of the register of ministerial interests, Angela Rayner said ministers were behaving “like rules are for other people”. Making her first Commons appearance since moving to a new role shadowing the Cabinet Office, Rayner cited reports about unclear donations or conflicts of interest connected to Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Matt Hancock and Eddie Lister. “When ministers and advisers use the public purse as a personal cashpoint, the public has a right to know,” she told MPs. Responding for the government, Penny Mordaunt, the paymaster general – a role that involves supporting Michael Gove, the main Cabinet Office minister – said Labour was accusing those named of being “somehow on the take”, and having entered politics for personal gain. “I’m afraid this is why the Labour line of attack is not getting traction,” Mordaunt said. “It’s not getting traction with the public because it is not plausible. It is based not on fact but on speculation, innuendo and smear. “The public care about scrutiny. They do. They are about accountability and transparency, and standards in public life. What they see through, though, is the performance the right honourable lady has given today.” The Commons question followed the continued delay to the register of ministers’ interests, which is supposed to be published every six months but has not been updated since July last year. Since it was last produced No 10 has repeatedly refused to say who may have initially paid for refurbishments costing a reported £200,000 to Johnson’s Downing Street flat, saying only the PM had now covered any costs. There is also confusion over a holiday to the Caribbean island of Mustique in Christmas 2019 taken by Johnson and his fiancee, Carrie Symonds. This was declared as a gift in kind worth £15,000, but the Mail on Sunday reported this weekend that the prime minister is battling against a still-unpublished ruling by the parliamentary commissioner for standards that it cost twice this, and that the donor was unclear. Separate allegations include that Patel, the home secretary, lobbied Gove over a £20m Covid-related PPE contract linked to a former Conservative parliamentary candidate; conflict of interest claims over NHS contracts given to a firm in which Hancock, the health secretary, has a family interest; and a report Hancock helped a former Tory MP secure a PPE deal. Rayner also raised the case of Lord Lister, one of Johnson’s longest-serving aides, who has apologised for his involvement in approving a £187m taxpayer-underwritten loan to a property company for which he was a paid adviser. Rayner told MPs: “People may ask why this is important. It is important because it goes to the very heart of our democracy. Who does our government answer to – the public, or private interests?” The list of ministers’ interests had been “mysteriously delayed”, Rayner said, adding: “I assume while the prime minister tries to remember who paid for his flat.” Last week the new adviser on ministers’ interests, Christopher Geidt, said he wanted the new list published as soon as possible. Mordaunt told the Commons it would happen by the end of May. Speaking to a committee of MPs, Geidt said he would resign if his advice was ignored. His predecessor, Sir Alex Allan, quit after being overruled by Johnson following his conclusion that Patel had bullied civil servants.