Angela Rayner has said she ‘takes full responsibility’ for failing to pay enough stamp duty on a flat she bought in East Sussex.
On Friday, Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in Keir Starmer’s cabinet, along with also leaving her role as deputy leader of the Labour Party.
This came after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on the £800,000 home and referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser.
In her resignation letter, Rayner said she “deeply regret[s]” her decision not to seek additional specialist tax advice given her position in the government and her “complex” personal situation.
“I take full responsibility for this error,” she continues.
“I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount.”
You can read the full letter below.
In a handwritten letter to Rayner, Keir Starmer thanked her for informing him of her decision to resign from the government, adding that he’s “very sad that your time as deputy prime minister, secretary of state and deputy leader of the Labour Party has ended in this way”.
The PM says Rayner was “right” to refer herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards and “right to act on his conclusion”.
Her resignation came just moments after a spokesman for the prime minister revealed Sir Keir had received a report on whether she had breached the ministerial code or not from his standards adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus.
The report found that Rayner had breached the ministerial code.
Sir Magnus wrote in his letter to the prime minister: “It is highly unfortunate, however, that Ms Rayner failed to pay the correct rate of SDLT [stamp duty] on this purchase, particularly given her status and responsibilities as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and as Deputy Prime Minister.
“She believed that she relied on the legal advice she had received, but unfortunately did not heed the caution contained within it, which acknowledged that it did not constitute expert tax advice and which suggested that expert advice be sought.”
Magnus said he was “conscious of the acute challenges ministers face” in balancing personal lives and public responsibilities, but that the “responsibility of any taxpayer for reporting their tax returns and settling their liabilities rests ultimately on themselves alone”.
He concluded: “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.”