Overview

• Angela Rayner said she underpaid tax on her £800,000 Hove flat and has contacted HMRC to settle the additional liability, which experts estimate could be up to about £40,000.
• She said initial conveyancing and trust-law advice treated the flat as her only property, but subsequent counsel concluded the trust linked to her Ashton home triggers the additional-dwelling rate.
• Rayner successfully applied to lift a court confidentiality order to explain the trust, set up in 2020 to provide for her disabled son, and has expressed regret for the error.
• Keir Starmer voiced support and said she took the right steps, while No 10 declined to specify when he was told of the new advice and ministers stopped short of guaranteeing her long-term position.
• Sir Laurie Magnus is assessing whether ministerial rules were breached and could report within days, as Conservative leaders press for her dismissal and urge HMRC scrutiny.