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Angela Rayner has quit the Government following the backlash over the stamp duty scandal
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Angela Rayner has resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary over the stamp duty row.
The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne was found to have broken the ministerial code after she referred herself for an ethics investigation on Wednesday, admitting that she had not paid enough stamp duty on the purchase of the £800,000 flat in Hove, Brighton.
Ms Rayner said she was resigning to protect her family as well as over the findings of the ethics watchdog.
In her letter to the Prime Minister, she said: “I have always taken my responsibilities as Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as a Member of Parliament with the utmost seriousness.
“I have long believed that people who serve the British public in government must always observe the highest standards, and while the Independent Adviser has concluded that I acted in good faith and with honesty and integrity throughout, I accept that I did not meet the highest standards in relation to my recent property purchase.
“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice given both my position as Housing Secretary and my complex family arrangements. I take full responsibility for this error.
“I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount. I must also consider the significant toll that the ongoing pressure of the media is taking on my family.
“While I rightly expect proper scrutiny on me and my life, my family did not choose to have their private lives interrogated and exposed so publicly. I have been clear throughout this process that my priority has, and always will be, protecting my children and the strain I am putting them under through staying in post has become unbearable.
“Given the findings, and the impact on my family, I have therefore decided to resign as Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.”