Angela Rayner put Labour chaos behind her today as she was spotted enjoying Britain's sweltering heatwave on the beach in Brighton.

The former deputy prime minister, 46, was seen soaking up the sun on Bank Holiday Monday with her topless ex-MP boyfriend Sam Tarry, 43.

The casually dressed pair - with Ms Rayner displaying her Labour rose leg tattoo in shorts, a T-shirt and white Crocs - were photographed setting up beach chairs as they joined thousands of others who thronged the South Coast.

It came as the UK saw record-breaking temperatures with a searing 34.8C recorded in Kew Gardens, south-west London.

This exceeded the previous hottest May day of 32.8C in 1944 and also broke the Bank Holiday record of 33.3C in August 2019.

Ms Rayner owns a £800,000 seaside apartment in Hove, East Sussex, and has previously been pictured sipping a rosé on the nearby beach.

It was the purchase of the South Coast home that led to her exit from the Government last year, following her tearful admission she failed to pay correct stamp duty.

Ms Rayner recently revealed she had settled £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty with HMRC, which paves the way for her to return to Cabinet or even launch a Labour leadership bid herself.

As Keir Starmer fights for his political future in the wake of dismal results in elections in Scotland, Wales and English councils, Ms Rayner is a key Labour power broker.

She has not ruled out running in any Labour leadership contest but said she would not 'trigger' a contest herself.

If she does not stand as a candidate to succeed Sir Keir, Ms Rayner would still be expected to return to the top of government by being handed a senior role by other leadership hopefuls such as Andy Burnham or Wes Streeting.

She was recently reported to have rebuffed attempts by No10 to install her as Mr Streeting's replacement as Health Secretary in Sir Keir's administration.

Mr Streeting quit the Cabinet role after losing confidence in Sir Keir's leadership, with a string of junior minister also resigning from the Government in the wake of Labour's local elections meltdown.

A contest to replace Sir Keir appears to be on hold while Mr Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, seeks a return to Westminster at the Makerfield by-election.

It has been suggested, if he does see off a challenge by Reform UK to win the seat, Mr Burnham could be set for a 'coronation' as Labour's new leader.

Ms Rayner and Mr Burnham held secret talks at her Greater Manchester constituency home in April.

But allies of Ms Rayner denied claims she had agreed a pact with Mr Burnham to support him for the leadership.

Ms Rayner has had an on-off relationship with left-winger Mr Tarry, the former Ilford South MP, following her separation from her husband.

She was one of tens of thousands of Brits who flocked to the coast and beauty spots to bask in the blistering heat despite official government guidance to stay out of the sun during the hottest times of the day.

The Met Office said the 34.8C heat is 'exceptional in the UK even in mid summer, let alone in May'.

Wales saw its hottest ever temperature in May on Monday evening, with 32.2C recorded at Hawarden Airport in Flinshire. The previous record of 30.6C in Newport stood for 82 years.

Up to nine counties, including Greater London, Surrey, Norfolk and Oxfordshire, saw temperatures soar above 32C - and the Met Office forecasts the mercury could yet climb to 35C today and tomorrow.

Amber and yellow health alerts remain in place across England, as temperatures continue to soar on what the Met Office has described as an 'unprecedented' heatwave for this time of year.

The warnings came as a man died on the beach in Hastings, East Sussex, following a 'medical incident', and a 15-year-old boy drowned at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln on Sunday.

Elsewhere, almost 60 people were treated for conditions including heat exhaustion at the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday and around 500 properties supplied by South East Water, in Sussex and Kent, were hit with outages and low pressure. 

On Monday, beaches across the country were full of sunseekers while others descended on lidos and parks as they made the most of the final day of a scorching weekend. 

The record high temperature of 34.8C was recorded in Kew Gardens at around 4pm, beating the previous records of 34C at Heathrow Airport and Bushy Park, Teddington, earlier on Monday.

The previous hottest ever May day of 32.8C was recorded in Camden Square, north London, on May 22, 1922, and in Horsham, Tunbridge Wells and Regent's Park on May 29, 1944.

In a record-breaking spell of hot weather, temperatures soared to 30.9C in Wales, 25.5C in Scotland and 24.6C in Northern Ireland. 

Tomorrow is expected to be another extremely hot day, with a peak of 35C expected in London, the Home Counties and Cambridgeshire.

The blistering heat will continue through the week, with highs of 31C forecast for Wednesday, 30C on Thursday, 27C on Friday and 28C on Saturday.

Tom Morgan, a Met Office meteorologist, said: 'We rarely see temperatures above 35C, even in the summer months, so to see temperatures getting close to 35C in May is, as I say, pretty historic.'

The Met Office said the warm spell has been driven by the development of high pressure over the country that caused air to sink, compress and heat.

Scientists say the record-breaking heat is a stark reminder of how the climate crisis is impacting lives in the UK.

More heatwaves are expected across the summer due to the developing 'super El Niño'.

The phenomenon, which supercharges weather events such as making heatwaves hotter, is predicted to hit in 2027 but it is expected to begin emerging this summer.