Angela Rayner 'tried to dodge council tax surcharge on grace and favour flat'

Westminster City Council brought in a 100 per cent council tax surcharge on second homes in April, meaning the £2,034 bill on her flat in Whitehall should have doubled.

However, the council was not informed that the flat at Admiralty House was her second home until the beginning of May, more than a month after the premium became due.

While a retrospective one-off payment was then made in late July, it was only after Parliamentary Questions by the Conservatives.

Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, was forced to resign from the Cabinet and as Deputy PM over her tax affairs, sparking a reshuffle.

Tory Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake told The Telegraph: "This new evidence confirms what we have long suspected: Angela Rayner failed to pay the council tax she was liable for, broke the ministerial code and led to ministers misleading Parliament in the process.

"Having already failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty and now failed to properly discharge her council tax bill, there can never be a route back into government for Angela Rayner."

Mr Hollinrake continued: "She must also pay back her £17,000 golden goodbye she received after resigning.

"All this at a time when Labour are hitting families with higher council tax bills. It is simply indefensible that one of their most senior figures avoided paying her own."

A source close to the former Deputy Prime Minister said: "The Government is responsible for liaising with Westminster City Council and administering council tax on Admiralty House, not Angela, and there is no suggestion she did anything other than properly discharge her own responsibilities as and when required."

A Government spokesman said: "As the property was a second residence, the Government was responsible for paying the council tax on Admiralty House, not the former Deputy Prime Minister, in line with long-standing precedent under successive governments.

"The Government property agency paid the full amount as soon as the invoice was received from Westminster Council."

The former Deputy Prime Minister is not the only senior Labour figure who has come under fire over a second home in central London.

Defence Secretary has admitted he did not pay enough council tax on his London home due to an “administrative error” by the local authority.

Westminster Council acknowledged it had issued an incorrect tax notice and apologised for the oversight.

John Healey underpaid around £1,500 in tax that was due under the second home council tax surcharge introduced in April, The Telegraph reported.

He should have paid around £3,000 a year to Westminster City Council for a home that he rents but only paid half this amount and rectified the mistake after being approached about it by the publication.

A spokesman for the Defence Secretary said the error lay with the local authority and that Mr Healey had "fulfilled all his obligations" by declaring the flat a second home on the relevant paperwork when he moved in.

The council tax owed, including the second homes surcharge, has now been paid in full.

MPs representing constituencies outside London can claim for the cost of renting a second home, including council tax and other related expenses.

Mr Healey is MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough in South Yorkshire. A source close to the Cabinet minister said he paid the notice issued to him in good faith.

A spokesman for Mr Healey said: "The Secretary of State fulfilled all his obligations as a tenant by notifying Westminster Council of the second home status of the tenancy on the council tax registration form when the tenancy began.

"Westminster Council made an administrative error which failed to classify it as a second home for council tax purposes, and led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued. The council have accepted fault and apologised for the error."

A Westminster City Council spokesman said: "The Secretary of State filled in the form correctly and registered the address as a second home.

"There was an oversight by the council and we did not register it as a second home. This led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued. We apologise for the error."