We can now bring you details of Angela Rayner's letter of resignation as deputy prime minister and as housing secretary.

She says she "deeply regret[s]" her decision not to seek additional specialist tax advice given her position in the government and her "complex" personal situation.

"I take full responsibility for this error," she continues.

"I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount."

She says she has decided to resign based both on the findings of the report and the impact on her family.

You can see the letter, in full, below - or read the copy here:

Image source, Angela Rayner

Image source, Angela Rayner

We've now received three letters and are combing through them. They are:

• Angela Rayner's letter of resignation to Keir Starmer
• Starmer's letter in response
• And, in addition, we've got the letter that Starmer's independent ethics adviser wrote to him

The last of those sees Sir Laurie Magnus say that while Rayner "acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service", he believes the ministerial code to "have been breached".

We'll bring you full transcripts of those letters shortly.

A devastating end for Rayner and a long list of unanswered questions for Starmerpublished at 12:09 BST 5 September

12:09 BST 5 September

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Having overcome a difficult upbringing and personal adversity to climb the heights of the Labour Party and become only its second ever deputy prime minister, it has all come to a premature end within just 14 months of government.

It has pretty devastating implications for Keir Starmer too. Right now there is a long list of unanswered questions.

When will a deputy leadership election take place? Who will stand? Will a candidate who wants to force the government into a more left-wing position make it onto the ballot paper?

Or, as some believe the Labour rulebook permits, could the cabinet designate an interim deputy leader from among their number who would, in time, be anointed permanently?

Would Starmer commit to appointing a new deputy leader to the position of deputy prime minister as well? Would any new deputy leader want that, or would they rather establish a new powerbase on the backbenches?

Could Starmer even revisit Jeremy Corbyn’s attempt to abolish the deputy leadership? That was mooted to me by one insider this morning, acknowledging that it would be a terrible look but musing on whether it might be a less terrible option than the others.

Who will be the new housing secretary, responsible for delivering one of the government’s most ambitious and important policy commitments, on housebuilding?

Will the prime minister use this as an opportunity to carry out a much wider shakeup of his cabinet and ministerial team, or will he want to minimise the political drama?

We’ll begin to find out the answers to some of these questions over the coming hours and days. Other questions - such as the impact on the government’s popularity of its housing secretary being forced to resign for having underpaid tax on a home - will take longer to answer.

Safe to say this isn’t how “phase two” of Starmer’s government was meant to begin.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Angela Rayner has also resigned as deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Angela Rayner has resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary over failing to pay enough stamp duty on a flat she bought in East Sussex.

We'll bring you more on this imminently, stay with us.

Image source, Historic England

Following the news that Keir Starmer's received a report into Angela Rayner's tax affairs, here's a bit about the man who wrote it.

Sir Laurie Magnus, the prime minister's independent adviser on ministerial standards, attended Eton College and Oxford University, before inheriting the hereditary title of Baronet in his 30s.

Magnus, 69, had a long career in finance and gained a CBE in 2022 - the same year he took on his advisory role. He was appointed by then-PM Rishi Sunak.

Under Sunak, the adviser couldn't launch their own investigations - Starmer changed this after winning the election last summer.

Magnus has led reports into various officials, including Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi, who was sacked for failing to disclose that HMRC was investigating his tax affairs.

He also looked into Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq, who resigned after growing pressure over an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.

Keir Starmer has received the report by his independent ethics adviser into Angela Rayner's tax affairs and is considering its findings, PA news agency says.

Stewart Whittingham
Reporting from Ashton-under-Lyne

Some voters in Angela Rayner's Ashton-under-Lyne constituency are showing little sympathy for her plight and want her to be sacked.

Teaching assistant Julie Doherty, 59, says: "She deserves to be sacked for what she's done.

"There's little sympathy for her round here."

Others have a different opinion.

Retired construction manager Alan Bell, 75, says: "It's a real shame what's happened to her and it will be sad if she gets sacked."

"We need people like her in politics," he says, adding: "She's a working class girl who has risen up to the top of government in the midst of all those privately educated people."

Image source, House of Commons

All eyes have been on the prime minister since media reports first broke about his deputy Angela Rayner's tax affairs.

At the beginning of the week, Keir Starmer told the BBC he was "proud" of his deputy and that "talking her down" was "a big mistake".

Then on Wednesday, shortly before MPs assembled in the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions, Rayner admitted she paid the wrong amount of tax and referred herself to the ethics adviser, who's since been investigating.

Inside the chamber, with Rayner sat behind him, Starmer seemed to echo his firm support - telling MPs he was "very proud to sit alongside" her.

Yesterday, in an interview with the BBC's political editor Chris Mason, he said he would "of course act" on the upcoming report, but refused to say whether he would sack Rayner.

Starmer instead repeated that he would make a decision "based on what I see in that report".

Image source, EPA

Angela Rayner is Labour's MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, a seat she's held since 2015.

The "about me" section on her website says "Angela is not an Oxbridge-educated, former special adviser, professional politician".

Instead, the biography says, Rayner was "brought up on a council estate and left her local comprehensive at 16 with no qualifications and a baby already on the way".

In an interview in 2020, Rayner revealed that she also cared for her mother, who had severe depression and attempted to take an overdose when she was young.

She later attended a local college and then started working as a care worker for Stockport Council. While working, Rayner got involved as a union representative with Unison and later became the most senior official in her region as the convener of Unison North West.

When Rayner won her seat 10 years ago, she became the first woman MP in the 180-year history of her constituency. She was swiftly promoted to the shadow whip’s office by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, before becoming a member of the shadow cabinet as shadow education secretary.

In April 2020, she was elected as deputy Labour leader by members of the party. When Labour won at the general election last year, PM Keir Starmer made her deputy prime minister and housing secretary.

Rayner is divorced and has three sons and a granddaughter, her website adds.

Our last post mentions the ministerial code, and its relevance to Angela Rayner's political fate, but what is it?

The ministerial code , externalsets out the expected standards of conduct for ministers in their roles.

Since assuming office last year, Labour has beefed it up, after long criticising the Conservatives for not being tough enough when in power.

A "failure to meet those high standards will always weaken the bond of respect between a government and the people it must serve", Starmer has said.

Ministers are expected to follow seven principles:

• Selflessness
• Integrity
• Objectivity
• Accountability
• Openness
• Honesty
• Leadership

In the list of ministers' interests, published by the adviser on ministerial standards, it states: "Ministers are asked to confirm that their tax affairs are up to date and that the arrangement of their affairs is consistent with their overarching duty to comply with the law."

Rayner's survival will depend on who she took tax advice from - and whether they were properly briefedpublished at 10:31 BST 5 September

10:31 BST 5 September

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

It’s looking very, very dicey.

It probably comes down to a very simple test. Did she really seek proper tax advice from a properly qualified person?

That means from a tax specialist or accountant not a conveyancing solicitor, or even a legal expert on trusts.

From the point of view of the tax authorities, and even more importantly from a political perspective, she had a duty to find out and pay the right amount of tax when she bought her flat.

As the ministerial code, which PM Keir Starmer's independent ethics adviser will judge her by, says there is an “overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law” and they are expected “to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety”.

Carelessness or ignorance of the law is not a defence HMRC would accept. It would also, almost certainly, fall below what’s expected of a minister.

It seems likely that the only way Rayner can avoid serious censure is if she took advice from a properly qualified person, disclosed all the details of the trust set up for her son, and that advice was flawed.

Our colleagues at Radio 5 Live are hosting a phone-in about Angela Rayner's stamp duty saga and her political future.

"Does politics need Angela Rayner?" presenter Nicky Campbell will ask listeners across the UK.

We'll bring you a selection of caller comments, but you can also tune in live at the top of the page.

The last thing the PM needs right now is a deputy leadership electionpublished at 09:34 BST 5 September

09:34 BST 5 September

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

If Angela Rayner leaves government today, and if she makes the additional decision to resign as Labour’s deputy leader - at this stage both massive ifs - Keir Starmer would be presented with one of the biggest political headaches of his five years as party leader.

A deputy leadership election, inconceivable 48 hours ago, is the last thing the prime minister needs right now. The simple fact is that at this stage the prime minister is unpopular: in the country, yes, but also among Labour MPs (see the welfare rebellion), and among some party members too.

A contest to select a new deputy leader would become a vehicle for the MPs and members who are most cheesed off with Starmer to vent.

The hurdle to become a deputy leadership candidate is quite high, needing the backing of around 80 MPs as well as support from trade unions and constituency parties. But the assumption among Labour MPs I’ve been speaking to who are beginning to game out this scenario is that the most left-wing candidate to make it onto the ballot paper would win.

Rayner’s politics are different from Starmer’s, but in government she has been used more than once to try to defuse left-wing discontent from MPs. What if she were replaced as deputy leader by someone whose overt mandate was to represent left-wing discontent rather than defuse it?

Starmer would not be required to appoint any new deputy leader to the position of deputy prime minister. When Labour were last in government, Gordon Brown did not give the position to Harriet Harman, at that time the deputy leader.

Still, the implications of what might happen today with Rayner could reverberate for much longer and in much bigger ways.

Image source, Getty Images

We've a bit more to bring you now from Trade Minister Douglas Alexander, who's spoken to Radio 4's Today programme after his earlier interview with BBC Breakfast.

The MP repeats his earlier comments that this morning's headlines aren't good for either the government or Rayner, as both await the publication of a report into the housing secretary's conduct after she admitted not paying enough stamp duty on a flat in Hove.

Asked now why Starmer declined to confirm in an interview yesterday with BBC's Chris Mason whether he would sack Rayner, if she's found in breach of the ministerial code, Alexander says: "It struck me that the prime minister was being very careful and respectful of the process that he had established on coming into office."

"He retained the right to exercise whatever judgement that he felt appropriate in light of the facts that emerge," the minister adds. "But given all his legal training, he's pretty committed to due process".

Over to Emma Rawson, director of public policy at the Association of Taxation Technicians, who's been talking to our colleagues on Radio 4's Today programme.

She says stamp duty “is a very complicated tax” and that there's "quirks and complications" with the rule.

It's especially tricky with second homes and trusts, she says - speaking to Angela Rayner's explanation of her situation.

"Legally and ultimately, it's the taxpayer - so in this case the purchaser's - responsibility to make sure they are getting the right advice," she says - adding that people do rely heavily on advisers.

"I think this case really does highlight the importance of seeking advice from a tax specialist," Rawson adds.

Deputy PM Angela Rayner, who's also the housing secretary, has admitted she did not pay enough stamp duty on a property in East Sussex - but what does that mean?

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax due if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland, external. You have to pay it when you:

• buy a freehold property
• buy a new or existing leasehold
• buy a property through a shared ownership scheme
• take on a mortgage or buy a share in a house

The amount of stamp duty you owe depends on the cost of the property, whether it will be used for residential purposes, and whether you own any other property.

What this means in Rayner's case

Rayner spent £800,000 on the flat in Hove. She paid £30,000 in stamp duty, having listed it as her primary residence, but as she co-owned another property she should have paid the "second home" rate of £70,000.

Rayner has blamed the "error" on legal advice that didn't "properly take account" of her complex situation, which involved a trust set up for her son with special educational needs. You can read her statement in full in our earlier post.

We've just been hearing from Trade Minister Douglas Alexander, who's doing the government's media round this morning.

Asked by BBC Breakfast when the report, by PM Keir Starmer's independent ethics adviser, into Angela Rayner may be released, Alexander says: "I genuinely don’t know and if I did I would tell you”.

But, he adds, Sir Laurie Magnus typically works "comprehensively" and "quickly".

In the meantime, Alexander accepts there is "frustration" while waiting for the process to be completed, but emphasises that "everyone is entitled to due process".

"I'm not pretending that these are headlines that any of us would choose, least of all Angela Rayner," he says, adding: "If the reports are true that this is going to be dealt with relatively quickly, of course I think that's a good thing not just for Angela but for the government as well."

Once the report's in, Starmer will want to make a call on Rayner quicklypublished at 07:52 BST 5 September

07:52 BST 5 September

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

This morning Downing Street sources are saying they have "no update on timing" about when we will get the crucial report that is likely to determine Angela Rayner’s political future.

It’s been suggested it could come today. And some of the newspapers, at least, are already calling this "judgement day" for the deputy prime minister.

The PM’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, who is conducting the investigation, is known for moving pretty swiftly when he’s looking into a matter.

Keir Starmer has said he will “act” on the findings. So you can be pretty sure that not long after he gets the report into Rayner’s action, he will have to decide one way or another.

He simply won’t want the kind of front pages we are seeing continue for days to come.

Image source, PA Media

Let's hear now from the Conservatives, who say Angela Rayner's position is "untenable".

Party leader Kemi Badenoch has repeated her calls for Keir Starmer to sack Rayner, saying that the denial by Rayner's conveyancer that it advised the deputy prime minister on tax "is yet more damning evidence that she has not been honest with the British public".

"From the start, we've had nothing but excuses, deflections and lies. Enough is enough," Badenoch says.

"How many final straws can there be for Angela Rayner? She must resign or Keir Starmer must finally find the backbone to sack her."