The Latest Breaking News from Laurie Magnus

Rayner’s departure is deeply damaging to prime minister who had initially stood by her

Angela Rayner has resigned as the UK’s deputy prime minister after a report found she had breached the ministerial code by not paying enough stamp duty on her second home.

COMMENT: The resignation of the deputy prime minister will now prolong Keir Starmer’s agonies – while Nigel Farage’s grin will only grow wider, writes John Rentoul

One minister said it would be a ‘good thing’ for the Government if the probe concluded quickly.

Starmer reshapes his senior team after Angela Rayner steps down over stamp duty row

Sir Keir Starmer said he would ‘of course’ act on the findings of Sir Laurie Magnus's probe into his deputy’s tax affairs

The Deputy Prime Minister referred herself to the ethics watchdog after admitting an underpayment of stamp duty on a flat purchase.

THE INDEPENDENT VIEW: Editorial: The deputy prime minister has had too many property tangles for her to continue in the role of housing secretary. In a forthcoming ministerial reshuffle, she should expect to lose that portfolio – though not necessarily suffer a humiliating demotion

Starmer has repeatedly declined to say whether he would sack Rayner, his deputy, if his independent ethics watchdog rules against her