There have been questions over what the PM knew and when regarding Angela Rayner receiving legal advice saying she had underpaid stamp duty on her Hove property.

A Number 10 spokesperson says Keir Starmer had been kept informed "as appropriate" about Rayner's actions over her tax affairs.

"As soon as that final legal opinion was received by the Deputy Prime Minister on Wednesday morning she immediately took steps to self-refer herself to the IA (independent adviser), and she updated the Prime Minister at the earliest opportunity as well," the spokesperson adds.

Asked if Starmer believes Rayner had been transparent with him, the spokesperson refers to the prime minister's comments yesterday when he said she had gone "over and above" when it came to setting out her personal circumstances.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the graffiti which has appeared near to Angela Rayner's Hove flat, one example of which reads "tax evader".

"The Prime Minister condemns this vandalism in the strongest possible terms," the statement reads.

"Whatever scrutiny our parliamentarians may face, it is appalling that their private homes should be targeted in this way."

As we've reported, Rayner's spokesperson said the vandalism is "totally unjustifiable" and "a matter for the police". The BBC has contacted Sussex Police for comment.

Image source, PA Media

A spokesperson for Angela Rayner has reacted to graffiti, which included an expletive, outside an apartment building in Hove, East Sussex, where the deputy PM owns one of the flats.

“This vandalism to residents’ homes is totally unjustifiable and beyond the pale. Neither Angela nor her neighbours deserve to be subjected to harassment and intimidation.

"It will rightly be a matter for the police to take action as they deem appropriate.”

The BBC has reached out to Sussex police for comment.

Did Angela Rayner seek appropriate legal advice?published at 12:00 BST 4 September

12:00 BST 4 September

Billy Kenber
Political investigations correspondent

The key question for Angela Rayner’s fate remains whether she sought appropriate advice when she bought the Hove flat.

Her allies have said she sought advice of three people, described as a conveyancer and two experts on the law on trusts.

But a conveyancer specialises in property law and is unlikely to have been able to provide tax advice.

It is similarly unclear whether the trust law experts were qualified to advise on tax law, particularly as it relates to stamp duty. Rayner’s team have declined to clarify anything further about who they were.

So who were they, and was it fair for Rayner to think they were equipped to provide specialist tax advice? And if they were, did she provide enough information about the trust and the ownership of her former family home for them to do that?

It’s those questions Sir Laurie Magnus, the government’s ethics adviser, will be probing. And the answers will likely decide her political future.

Image source, Reuters

Greater Manchester's Labour Mayor Andy Burnham is asking people "not to rush judgement" on Angela Rayner's situation as he underlines it is a "complicated" one.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester this morning, Burnham highlights that the deputy prime minister is a "friend" but equally insists he is "not making excuses" for her.

"It's clear a mistake has been made," he adds.

"Angela’s life is complicated, she has a trust fund in relation to her son and that clearly makes things complicated when it comes to property.

"What I would say is let the ethics adviser take a proper, careful look at it and then come back with an independent judgement."

Image source, House of Commons

Speaking in the House of Commons this morning, shadow leader of the House Jesse Norman says Angela Rayner's conduct gives the "appearance of very serious impropriety".

The Conservative MP says it "discredits both the prime minister and the government as a whole".

In response, Commons Leader Lucy Powell says the Tories are having a go at Rayner "because she is so bloody good at her job".

Powell says Rayner has given "a full account of her family circumstances and her living arrangements, and made clear that she is now rectifying the mistake she has made".

"She has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, who is now looking into it. I am not going to say any more on that matter."

Let's hear more now from listeners to Nicky Campbell's BBC 5 Live show who have been giving their opinions on Angela Rayner's future after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on a £800,000 flat, claiming she was badly advised.

Anne in Chepstow calls Rayner's predicament "karma".

"She has stridently demanded resignations from politicians in other parties in the past. I don't understand why she therefore thinks it should be different for her," she says.

Stuart in Oxford disagrees. "This whole thing is a political nightmare, a witch-hunt against Angela Rayner. I'm not a Labour supporter but she's a selfless public servant in a very, very busy role in government... let's give her a break and wait to see the evidence that comes out."

Jimmy in Ayr isn't impressed with PM Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves coming to Rayner's defence. He says "it's only natural that she'll (Reeves) stick up for Rayner. Keir Starmer stuck up for her in Parliament - he hasn't got the bottle to do the right thing and sack her."

Image source, PA Media

Graffiti has appeared outside an apartment building in Hove, East Sussex, where Angela Rayner owns one of the flats, calling the deputy PM a "tax evader".

More graffiti was seen on a construction chipboard near the building, with the words "tax evader Rayner" and "Rayner tax avoidance".

As we've reported, Rayner has denied she tried to dodge paying extra tax when buying a second property in Hove, blaming the "mistake" on initial legal advice that failed to "properly take account" of the situation.

Listeners have been having their say on whether Angela Rayner should stay or go, on Nicky Campbell's BBC 5 Live show - watch live above.

Dave from Salford says he's a lifelong Conservative voter but thinks Rayner should not be "thrown under the bus" over a mistake, adding "she's not an expert on tax, and her previous legal team have just got it wrong, so I just don't think it's her fault at all".

But Pete in Ramsey says he has "zero sympathy" for Rayner, adding that "she has more ability to check her position and get it right, and have the time to do it, than your average person".

Ruth in Aberdeen believes it comes down to "how you view her intentions and, for me, I believe that her intentions were to try and do the right thing... I feel really sorry for her".

And Charlie in south London believes the whole saga is being overblown by Rayner's political opponents. "There's an investigation underway. From what I understand this isn't sleaze it's a muck up... we're all so bored of this Punch and Judy nonsense politics," he says.

Angela Rayner - and the rest of us - now face waiting gamepublished at 10:28 BST 4 September

10:28 BST 4 September

Chris Mason
Political editor

The matter will now be passed over to Sir Laurence Henry Philip Magnus.

Sir Laurie was appointed as the Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests in December 2022 by Rishi Sunak.

The job has since been renamed the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

Not for the first time, this veteran banker from the City of London,, external finds himself the central character in the immediate career prospects of one of the country's most senior political figures.

He will seek and then pour over the paper trail, talk to Angela Rayner and attempt to establish a definitive timeline of what she did and when and who she spoke to and why.

Precedent suggests this latest inquiry will take around a week.

But if Sir Laurie is effectively the jury here, it is the prime minister who is the judge.

In other words when he sees the adviser's report, it is on that basis that he will have to decide if it is tenable to keep Rayner on.

You can continue reading my blog post.

Image source, Reuters

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said Angela Rayner "acted in good faith" and believed "she followed all the rules".

Speaking to media outlets this morning, Phillipson said Rayner received legal advice on Monday saying she had underpaid stamp duty on Monday.

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

"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 said.

"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."

As we've been reporting, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner conceded in a statement yesterday that she did not pay enough stamp duty on a flat she purchased in East Sussex.

A source close to Rayner told the BBC she initially consulted three people before buying the Hove flat - one individual experienced in conveyancing and two experts on the law around trusts.

It is not clear, however, 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.

As a reminder, Rayner has said this was not an attempt to "dodge" the full tax rate - saying the mistake occurred as a result of legal advice that did not "properly take account" of the situation.

You can read more from our political correspondents in our story.

Reeves goes on to say that anyone who saw Rayner's statement yesterday "will have a lot of sympathy with some of the challenging family circumstances around this, around Angela's disabled son".

She adds: "But of course it is right that people pay the right amount of tax and that people in public life lead by example, that is why Angela herself has referred herself to the independent adviser on ethics and it is why she is working with HMRC to make sure that she has paid all the proper taxes."

On the timeline of who knew what and when, the chancellor says definitive advice that Rayner paid incorrect stamp duty was issued on Wednesday morning.

Asked whether stamp duty is "too complicated", Reeves says: "Angela tried to do the right thing and, of course, it is incumbent on all of us to try to properly understand the rules, and she is now working to make sure that the correct tax is paid."

Image source, UK POOL

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she has "full confidence" in Angela Rayner in her role as the deputy prime minister.

Asked whether she believes Rayner can stay in post, the chancellor responds: "She is a good friend and colleague, she has accepted the right stamp duty wasn't paid. That was an error, that was a mistake - she is working hard now to rectify that."

We'll bring you more from her statement shortly.

As the discussion over Angela Rayner's future continues, the BBC's Nicky Campbell is taking calls on 5 Live.

We'll bring you some of what we're hearing, and you can press watch live above to follow the show, and text 85058 to join the conversation.

Image source, Reuters

The deputy prime minister is facing ongoing pressure today, after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on a second property in Hove.

She released a lengthy statement just before PMQs on Wednesday, saying arrangements on her family home in Greater Manchester meant she should have paid a higher rate.

Rayner, who is also housing secretary, denied she had tried to dodge the extra tax, blaming the "mistake" on initial legal advice that failed to "properly take account" of the situation.

Half an hour later, Keir Starmer stood by his deputy at PMQs - while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded her resignation.

Since then, the BBC understands she initially consulted three people before the purchase of her £800,000 flat in Hove. We'll bring you more on that shortly.

Ben Hatton
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

The day started with Rachel Reeves announcing the date of the autumn Budget - 26 November.

But it was Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner's admission two hours later that she had referred herself to the standards watchdog that dominated the agenda in Westminster.

She has been under mounting pressure in recent weeks after reports she had saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the East Sussex flat by not paying the higher rate reserved for buying additional homes.

Rayner conceded today that she should have paid more stamp duty, but insisted she was not trying to "dodge tax", blaming the "mistake" on initial legal advice that failed to "properly take account" of her situation.

The details are quite complicated - you can read her full statement, and a timeline of the key events as she described them. In the Commons, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called for Rayner to be sacked, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood by his deputy.

All eyes are now on what the standards commissioner decides after Rayner's self-referral - we've taken a look at the options here.

We're pausing our live coverage now. For more on this story:

• Our chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman has taken a look at the political jeopardy for Rayner
• You can read our full stories on the Rayner tax row and Budget

Image source, House of Commons

Over the course of the afternoon, we've heard politicians from various parties react to Angela Rayner's underpayment of stamp duty on a property. Here's what some of them said:

Labour - Keir Starmer defended his deputy at PMQs earlier, saying he was “proud” to sit alongside her. He also criticised the opposition, saying that they would not have taken the same accountability. Health Secretary Wes Streeting also backed Rayner, saying she made an "honest mistake".

Conservatives - Kemi Badenoch said Rayner's position was "untenable" during the afternoon's PMQs. Later, the Conservative leader said: “If Keir Starmer had a backbone, he’d sack Angela Rayner immediately.” In a post on X, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said Rayner "should not be setting the rules when she fails to keep them herself".

Liberal Democrats - Ed Davey said it is a “good time” to consider how we look after disabled people and build a “more caring country” after Rayner said the stamp duty was complicated by a trust set up for her disabled son. Davey added that her position would be untenable if the ethics advisor finds she broke rules.

Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

A lot of the confusion around Rayner's underpaid stamp duty hinges around her use of a trust.

Trusts allow someone to put money aside to benefit somebody else during their lifetime without giving them the assets outright, explains Caroline Foulger, a partner at Hunters Law LLP who specialises in estate planning.

You can set up a trust primarily for someone's benefit in their lifetime and say where the money goes after they die, she says.

She explains how putting assets in a trust places restrictions on how they are used. For example, you can't move money out of a trust unless all the trustees - those who manage it - agree.

"Trusts are very normal" for people who have children with additional needs, says Foulger, explaining that somebody with a disability may be vulnerable to being taken advantage of, or need support managing their money. "A trust is the better place to do that," she says.

She adds that, while trusts are typically set up by law firms, they are closely scrutinised by HMRC and have to be on a register.