PM battles to contain crisis after Rayner forced to resign

Deputy PM quits after failing to pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove. Starmer appoints David Lammy as new deputy PM in major cabinet revamp. Yvette Cooper becomes foreign secretary; Shabana Mahmood is home secretary.

- Pippa Crerar Political editor

Keir Starmer was battling to get a grip on the crisis that has engulfed his government after his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, was forced to step down yesterday for breaching the ministerial code over her tax arrangements.

The prime minister brought forward a major cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to restore order and get back on the front foot after a damaging few days, with Yvette Cooper, David Lammy and Shabana Mahmood all moved to prominent new roles.

But the fallout from the controversy over Rayner, who as housing secretary underpaid about £40,000 stamp duty on her seaside flat, is likely to further damage Labour's reputation, as it struggles to take on the challenge from Reform UK.

With Rayner standing down from all three of her roles - which also included deputy leader of the Labour party - Downing Street is now braced for a bruising internal party contest to replace her, which frustrated MPs could use to try to force Starmer into a change of direction.

It comes days after No 10 attempted a reset after a difficult summer recess, during which Nigel Farage and migration policy dominated the headlines, and ahead of a tough autumn during which Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to raise taxes to balance the nation's books.

In his ruling, the ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, found that Rayner had "acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service" but concluded she had breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.