Rayner consulted three people before flat purchase

Angela Rayner initially consulted three people before the purchase of her £800,000 flat in Hove, which she has admitted to underpaying stamp duty on, the BBC understands.

It is understood the deputy prime minister consulted one individual experienced in conveyancing and two experts on the law around trusts before the purchase.

However, it is unclear if any of those people were experts in complex tax law and it is not known if they knew about the full details of the trust, which was set up to help fund care for her son.

Rayner has denied she tried to dodge the full tax rate on the apartment and blamed the "mistake" on initial legal advice that failed to "properly take account" of the situation.

Rayner, who is also housing secretary, has been under mounting pressure in recent weeks after reports emerged she had saved £40,000 in stamp duty on her East Sussex flat by not paying the higher rate reserved for additional home purchases.

She says she acted on the expert advice at the time, but has in recent days learned that arrangements involving her family home in Greater Manchester meant she should have paid a higher rate.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC Sir Keir Starmer continues to have full confidence in Rayner, but he said it will be up to the independent adviser on ministers' interests, Sir Laurie Magnus, to decide whether she took appropriate advice.

If precedent is a guide, the investigation by Sir Laurie that may decide Rayner's future could be done in a matter of days.

In interviews on Thursday morning, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said Rayner had received legal advice saying she had underpaid stamp duty on Monday.

However, Phillipson later told BBC Breakfast Rayner did not receive "final" and "definitive" legal advice until Wednesday.

"Angela Rayner acted in good faith, she did believe she followed all the rules," she said.

"For the avoidance of any doubt, she sought fresh legal advice, which came back and concluded that there was additional stamp duty that was owed.

"She wasn't able to talk about that fully until a court order that was in place, particularly in relation to her family, had been lifted."

The Conservatives and Reform UK's Nigel Farage have both called for Rayner's resignation.

Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the rules around trusts and stamp duty on the HMRC website were clear.

"It cannot be claimed that you took reasonable care when the information is that obvious," he told BBC Breakfast.

Hollinrake said Rayner's position was "untenable", particularly given her role as housing secretary and her previous criticism of others for tax avoidance.

"If this was a Conservative member of Parliament, who was in the same situation, I think Angela Rayner would be calling for that person to step down," he said.

"And so you cannot be hypocritical in these matters, you've got to be consistent."

The deputy prime minister said she has contacted His Majesty's Revenue And Customs (HMRC) to work out the tax she needs to pay and referred herself for investigation by the prime minister's standards adviser.

The Conservatives have also written to HMRC calling for it to launch its own investigation on whether she tried to evade tax.

If HMRC decides her actions were careless, Rayner will have a £12,000 penalty to pay on top of the £40,000 tax shortfall.

If her actions are found to be deliberate, then the fine would be 100% of the tax underpaid.

Sean Randall, an independent stamp duty expert, said the key question will be whether Rayner had a reasonable excuse for making the error in the stamp duty.

"It's not enough just to say that she relied on advice. I think she also needs to explain what it is that she told her lawyer and what advice that she received from her lawyer," he added.

On Wednesday, Sir Keir stood by his deputy at Prime Minister's Questions, saying he was "very proud to sit alongside her".

In a statement, Rayner said she part-funded the purchase of the flat in May by selling her remaining stake in her family home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, which she shares with her ex-husband and family.

Some of her interest in the home had already been sold following her divorce to a court-instructed trust previously set up to help fund the care for her son, who has lifelong disabilities, she said.

The arrangement had been designed to give him "security of knowing the home is his, allowing him to continue to live in the home he feels safe in," she added, and was "a standard practice in circumstances like ours".

But fresh legal advice revealed "complex deeming provisions" in the trust meant she should have paid the higher stamp duty rate on the purchase of the Hove flat, she said.

Rayner acknowledged her "reliance on advice on lawyers" did not take into account all the provisions of the situation.

"I deeply regret the error that has been made. I am committed to resolving this matter fully and providing the transparency that public service demands," she said.