Angela Rayner: British deputy PM resigns over tax controversy

Angela Rayner has stepped down from her position as deputy prime minister to Keir Starmer following reports that she underpaid stamp duty during the purchase of her flat in Hove.

Rayner had earlier admitted that she underpaid tax on the property in a  statement explaining that the underpayment was an error. 

She chalked it up to legal advice that didn't "properly take account" of her complex situation, which involved a trust set up for her son with special educational needs.

The prime minister had earlier in the week defeneded her during the weekly Prime Minister Question time in parliament. 

Rayner has also resigned from her position as deputy Labour party leader and Housing Secretary according to the BBC.

In her reisgnation letter, she says "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."

She also said that her decision to resign had to do with the impact of the tax controversy on her family. 

Rayner had referred herself to the house ethics committee when her tax underpayment issues came to light. She also asked the courts to lift a confidentiality order in relation to her own son as part of investigations. 

The former Minister now faces paying back the unpaid tax and up to twelve thousand pounds in fines. 

Downing Street has shared a handwritten letter from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to his former deputy, Angela Rayner.

He starts by thanking Rayner 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".

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