Overview

• Reports say Angela Rayner removed her name from the deeds of her Ashton-under-Lyne home weeks before buying an approximately £800,000 flat in Hove, allowing the purchase to be treated as a main residence for stamp duty.
• The Telegraph’s figures, cited by multiple outlets, suggest she paid around £30,000 rather than the £70,000 surcharge that applies to second homes, a difference of about £40,000.
• Council records referenced in coverage indicate she listed her Ashton-under-Lyne house as her primary residence and told Brighton & Hove that the Hove flat is a second home for council tax purposes.
• Taxpayers are reported to cover the council tax on her grace-and-favour Admiralty House apartment because it is designated a second home, with the Cabinet Office saying she followed advice on the official residence.
• Rayner’s spokesman says she paid the correct duty in line with all requirements and denies wrongdoing, as the Conservatives both refer her to Sir Laurie Magnus and pursue an electoral-roll challenge in her constituency; No 10 says the Prime Minister retains confidence in her.