Starmer refuses to say if he will sack Rayner over tax

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to back Angela Rayner staying in post until the next election, in the first sign he could be distancing himself from the under-fire deputy prime minister, as the crisis over her tax affairs deepens.

- MILLIE COOKE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Ms Rayner’s political future hangs in the balance after she admitted she did not pay enough stamp duty when purchasing her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, sparking calls for her to resign.

Sir Keir condemned an “appalling” graffiti attack at the seaside flat, after the words “bitch” and “tax evader” were daubed on the wall outside, while a spokesperson for Ms Rayner said the vandalism was “totally unjustifiable and beyond the pale”.

On Wednesday, Ms Rayner, who is also housing secretary, insisted she had made a “mistake” in failing to pay the required £40,000 tax on the second home, based on incorrect legal advice, and referred herself to Sir Keir’s standards adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, who is expected to report back as early as today.

But the prime minister has repeatedly refused to say if he will sack Ms Rayner if she is found to have broken the ministerial code. He told the BBC he would “of course act” on the conclusions of Sir Laurie’s report, but would not be drawn on whether his deputy would be fired.

While Sir Keir said he retains “full confidence” in Ms Rayner, he declined to commit to her staying in post for the rest of the parliament as he has previously done with foreign secretary David Lammy and chancellor Rachel Reeves when they faced pressure to step down.

Losing the deputy prime minister would be a hammer blow to the prime minister's authority and pile further pressure on his government, which is significantly lagging behind Reform UK in the polls and has faced mounting criticism for not achieving enough in its first year in power.