Starmer refuses to back Rayner staying in post until the election: UK Politics live – UK Times

Earlier, we reported that vandals had graffitied Angela Rayner’s property in Hove.

You can read our piece on this in full below.

Sir Keir Starmer will not give Angela Rayner is backing until the next general election, as he has with David Lammy and Rachel Reeves.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said he would not “go through the cabinet” and determine who will stay on until the end of the parliament.

And he said Sir Keir retains full confidence in Ms Rayner.

But the PM’s official spokesman has previously said Mr Lammy will be foreign secretary until the next general election, as will Ms Reeves as chancellor.

Ms Rayner’s future has been cast into doubt by her failure to pay the right amount of stamp duty on the purchase of her flat in Hove.

Sir Keir Starmer has condemned in the “strongest possible terms” vandalism at Angela Rayner’s seaside flat in Hove, Downing Street has said.

The make or break ethics report into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs is not expected to be published on Thursday, The Independent understands.

Sir Laurie Magnus’s probe into the deputy prime minister’s stamp duty liability could come as soon as Friday.

But government figures increasingly believe it is unlikely to be published as soon as Thursday, as some reports had suggested.

Ms Rayner’s future hinges largely on the findings and the wording of Sir Laurie’s report.

A spokesperson for Angela Rayner has decried the offensive graffiti written on the deputy prime minister’s new property in Hove as “unjustifiable and beyond the pale”.

Vandals wrote the words “tax evader” and “b***h” outside her flat earlier today.

The spokesperson told Sky News: “This vandalism to residents’ homes is totally unjustifiable and beyond the pale.

“Neither Angela nor her neighbours deserve to be subjected to harassment and intimidation.

“It will rightly be a matter for the police to take action as they deem appropriate.”

As opposition politicians continue to demand Angela Rayner’s resignation over her failure to pay full stamp duty tax on her seaside property, our political correspondent Millie Cooke looks at who could replace the deputy PM if she steps down.

The Tories are having a go at Angela Rayner “because she is so bloody good at her job”, Commons Leader Lucy Powell said after the Deputy Prime Minister admitted to underpaying stamp duty on her seaside flat.

Speaking at business questions, Ms Powell said: “The Deputy Prime Minister has given a full account of her family circumstances and her living arrangements, and made clear that she is now rectifying the mistake she has made.

“She has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, who is now looking into it. And I am not going to say any more on that matter, because he is looking into it.

“But, suffice to say, the Deputy Prime Minister is a huge, huge asset to this Government. She’s an incredibly effective minister and she has been delivering.

“Whether that’s record investment in social housing, the flagship Employment Rights Bill, the biggest settlement for local government in many years, major planning reforms to get more homes built and delivering devolution and community empowerment and much, much more. They have a go at her because she is so bloody good at her job.”

This came in response to shadow Commons leader Jesse Norman, who claimed Ms Rayner’s conduct gives the “appearance of very serious impropriety” and “discredits both the Prime Minister and the Government as a whole”.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner could face a fine of up to £12,000 for underpaying stamp duty on her seaside flat in Hove, a tax expert has said.

Speaking to TimesRadio, tax expert Dan Neidle said that if the HMRC finds that Ms Rayner was “careless” in her tax dealings, she could expect to face a 30 per cent fine of the reported £40,000 she saved.