Angela Rayner has resigned from the Government.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary has faced mounting criticism over underpayment of Stamp Duty on her £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, which she admitted earlier this week.
She referred herself to the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, earlier this week and Keir Starmer defended her during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
She is a senior member of Cabinet and a major figure in Starmer’s Government.
She leaves both her posts: Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government.
She is also understood to have stepped down as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a post to which she was elected.
Less than hour after Rayner’s announcement, the ethics report was published and she was found to have been in breach of the Ministerial Code because she ‘did not heed the advice she received.’
One piece of written advice recommended that ‘specific tax advice be obtained.’
In bis letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Laurie Magnus says: “I believe Ms Rayner has acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service.
“I consider, however, that her unfortunate failure to settle her SDLT liability at the correct level, coupled with the fact that this was established only following intensive public scrutiny, leads me to advise you that, in relation to this matter, she cannot be considered to have met the “highest possible standards of proper conduct” as envisaged by the Code. Accordingly, it is with deep regret that I must advise you that in these circumstances, I consider the Code to have been breached.
This article is taken from Landlord Today