SAEDNEWS: The UK's deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, resigned on Friday after an independent inquiry found that she did not meet the ethical standards required for government ministers over a recent home purchase.
Rayner, who admitted on Wednesday that she did not pay enough tax on her purchase of an apartment in Hove, on England’s south coast, earlier this summer, said the report found that she acted in good faith, but that, crucially, she should have sought more specific tax advice.
“I take full responsibility for this error,” she said in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount.”
In response, Starmer voiced his sadness but said Rayner had made the right decision, the AP reported.
Rayner referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, on Wednesday, who delivered his report to Starmer on Friday.
In the UK, levies are charged on property purchases, with higher charges due on more expensive homes and secondary residences. Reports have suggested that Rayner saved 40,000 pounds by not paying the appropriate levy, known as a stamp duty, on her 800,000-pound ($1 million) purchase.
