Angela Rayner has quit as a Government minister after admitting she failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty when buying her new flat near Brighton.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Housing Secretary, resigned from her post on Friday following growing pressure over the scandal.
In a letter to the Prime Minister she said: “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice given both my position as Housing Secretary and my complex family arrangements. I take full responsibility for this error.
“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.
“While I rightly expect proper scrutiny on me and my life, my family did not choose to have their private lives interrogated and exposed so publicly. I have been clear throughout this process that my priority has, and always will be, protecting my children and the strain I am putting them under through staying in post has become unbearable.
“Given the findings, and the impact on my family, I have therefore decided to resign.”
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, has faced days of scrutiny over her tax affairs after allegations she dodged £40,000 in stamp duty payments.
Both Sir Keir Starmer and Ms Rayner have condemned graffiti outside the former Deputy Prime Minister's new £800,000 seaside flat in the wake of her admission she underpaid tax on it.
In a hand written letter to Ms Rayner, Sir Keir said Ms Rayner would remain “a major figure” in the Labour party.
He added: “I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics.”
The Government’s ethics advisor Sir Laurie Magnus said while Ms Rayner had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service”, she could not be considered to have met the “highest possible standards of proper conduct” for a minister.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said: “I consider that her unfortunate failure to settle her [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.”
