UK Deputy PM Angela Rayner Steps Down Over Tax Inquiry

London, Sep 5 (PTI) Angela Rayner on Friday resigned as UK's Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary after a sped-up independent ethics inquiry concluded that she had underpaid tax on a recently bought home.

Rayner, 45, a powerful leader within the Labour Party, handed in her resignation after the inquiry concluded that she had breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct by failing to seek out specialist tax advice to ensure she paid the correct stamp duty on the property on the south coast of England.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is now formalising a forced Cabinet reshuffle of his top team, expressed his regret at losing his senior-most minister.

“You were right to refer yourself to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Adviser and right to act on his conclusions,” Starmer said, in a rare hand-written letter in response to Rayner’s resignation.

“On a personal note, I am very sad to be losing you from the Government. You have been a trusted colleague and a true friend for many years. I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics,” he said, adding that she will remain a “major figure” in the Labour Party as she moves to the backbenches.

Sir Laurie Magnus, Starmer's Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, informed him that his deputy cannot be considered to have met the “highest possible standards of proper conduct” and therefore was in breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

Rayner, Labour's member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne in northern England who also held the influential post of Secretary of State of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, said she deeply regretted her decision to “not seek additional specialist tax advice.” “I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount. I must also consider the significant toll that the ongoing pressure of the media is taking on my family,” she said in her resignation letter to the PM.

The letters were released by 10 Downing Street along with the letter to Starmer from Laurie Magnus, who described his conclusion as “highly unfortunate.” “She [Rayner] 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,” he wrote.

He added: “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 [stamp duty] 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.” Earlier this week, after weeks of intense media coverage, Rayner had revealed a complex arrangement with her ex-husband over the care of her disabled son involving another property that remains a family home. Under the stamp duty requirements for home-buyers in England, anyone buying a second property is expected to pay an additional surcharge.

Rayner had initially classified her new seaside flat in Hove as a primary residence, which would be subject to only the basic rate of stamp duty. However, given the additional family home held in trust for her son, she owed an estimated 40,000 pounds more to the tax authorities than previously calculated. 

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