Angela Rayner has defended Labour activists campaigning in the US election after Donald Trump’s campaign team filed a complaint accusing the party of foreign interference.

The Deputy Prime Minister told the Commons, her colleagues were campaigning “in their own time with their own money.”

Lawyers for the former president filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in the United States, saying Labour and Kamala Harris’ US election campaign were “making and accepting illegal foreign national contributions”.

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The complaint references a social media post, which now seems to have been deleted, in which a Labour staff member appeared to have said there were “nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former) going to the US in the next few weeks” to swing states.

The LinkedIn post said she had “ten spots available” for anyone willing to travel to North Carolina to campaign for Ms Harris, adding “we will sort your housing”.

The complaint from the Trump campaign refers to a “volunteer exemption” in US elections which means foreign nationals can volunteer, but the letter states “they may not be compensated, foreign nationals may not make expenditures, and they may not direct or control activities of US campaigns”.

The Trump campaign also complains that senior Labour Party staff attended the Democratic convention in Chicago and met Ms Harris’s campaign team It names Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s chief of staff, and Matthew Doyle, Downing Street director of communications.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, asked Ms Rayner — standing in for Sir Keir Starmer who is attending a summit in Samoa — if he would join him in “applauding the brave Labour staff members who have travelled across the Atlantic to campaign against Donald Trump.”

Ms Rayner said “People in their own time often go and campaign, and that's what we've seen. It happens in all political parties. People go and campaign and they do what they want to do in their own time with their own money.“

However, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has previously campaigned for Donald Trump, told the BBC Labour was clearly breaching US election legislation.

“The reason there's a problem is Federal Election Commission laws, which very clearly state anyone can go, You're absolutely right, they can speak, and they can do whatever they want to do, but it cannot be paid for.

“And the advertisement that was put out said you'll get free accommodation. There was no mention that people would have to pay their own airfares.

“There was absolutely no mention that they would have to take time off work, and that's where the breach is.

He said when he campaigned for Mr Trump he was not a member of the UK’s governing party and “wasn't paid for” and “went as an individual”.

Sir Keir briefly addressed the issue during a flight to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa in the South Pacific.

He told reporters: “The Labour Party has volunteers, [they] have gone over pretty much every election.

"They’re doing it in their spare time. They’re doing it as volunteers. They’re staying I think with other volunteers over there.”

Asked if the row risked jeopardising his relationship with Donald Trump, the prime minister said “no” – pointing to the dinner the two men had together at Trump Tower in New York last month.

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Earlier in the Commons session, the Deputy Prime Minister was pushed on next week’s budget, and reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to impose national insurance on employers’ pension contributions.

Tory shadow deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden referred to a previous comment by Ms Rayner when she said “working people will pay when employers pass on the hike in national insurance.”

He asked if she agreed with herself.

Ms Rayner replied: “What I’m incredibly proud of is this week, this Government brought in a new employment Bill, which will raise the living standards of 10 million workers.

“Would the shadow deputy prime minister like to apologise for the… 70-year hike in taxes that he put on working people, the crashes (to) the economy and the disaster that he left behind?”