Law firm claims it has been made a 'scapegoat' in Angela Rayner tax storm
A conveyancer used by Angela Rayner to buy a flat she has since admitted underpaying stamp duty on has denied giving her tax advice.
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Sir Keir Starmer has declined to say whether he will sack his deputy if she is found to have broken the ministerial code.
The Deputy Prime Minister has said incorrect “advice from lawyers” led her to pay too little tax when she purchased the property in Hove this year.
Sources close to Ms Rayner said a conveyancer and two experts in trust law had all suggested the amount of stamp duty she paid on the property was correct and she acted on the advice she was given at the time.
But the conveyancing firm, Verrico and Associates, on Thursday said its lawyers “never” gave Ms Rayner tax advice and were being made “scapegoats”.
In a statement, managing director Joanna Verrico said: “We’re not qualified to give advice on trust and tax matters and we advise clients to seek expert advice on these.”
The founder of the small high street firm, based in Herne Bay, Kent, added: “We believe that we did everything correctly and in good faith. Everything was exactly as it should be.
“We probably are being made scapegoats for all this.”
Read more: 'Will Angela Rayner still be Deputy PM at Christmas?' Bridget Phillipson declines to answer
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “This is yet more damning evidence that Angela Rayner has not been honest with the British public.
“From the start, we’ve had nothing but excuses, deflections and lies. Enough is enough.
“How many final straws can there be for Angela Rayner? She must resign or Keir Starmer must finally find the backbone to sack her.”
Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said on X: “Looking increasingly like Ms Rayner didn’t actually obtain tax advice before this week.”
Looking increasingly like Ms Rayner didn’t actually obtain tax advice before this week. pic.twitter.com/N0hFDjGkg2
— Dan Neidle (@DanNeidle) September 4, 2025
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said “of course” he will act on the findings of his independent standards adviser looking into whether Ms Rayner broke ministerial rules.
But Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether he would fire his deputy, who is also the Housing Secretary, if Sir Laurie Magnus concludes that a breach occurred.
Ms Rayner referred herself for an ethics investigation on Wednesday, admitting that she had made a “mistake” after receiving fresh legal advice that she was liable for the extra duty.
She had been under mounting pressure after reports emerged she had saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the seaside property by not paying the higher rate reserved for additional home purchases.
Speaking to LBC, Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: "Anyone who reads the statement that Angela Rayner issued this week will see a picture of somebody trying to do the right thing.
"This is a complicated situation. She's got a disabled son, there's a trust involved. As soon as she was told that she had not paid enough tax on the property that she bought, she said she would pay every penny due. She referred herself to the independent advisor on ministerial interests.
"Those are the right things to do. She's done the right thing. Now we've got to let the independent adviser do his job, which is always to look at these situations. When any accusations been made about a minister."
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir said: “There’s a clear procedure. I strengthened that procedure. I am expecting a result pretty quickly.
“I do want it to be comprehensive … and then of course I will act on whatever the report is that’s put in front of me.”
It is understood that the ministerial ethics watchdog’s probe could report back as early as Friday.
Sir Keir and his Cabinet have rallied round the Deputy Prime Minister amid Opposition calls for her to resign over the error, with the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves both expressing “full confidence” in her.
The Prime Minister, who vociferously defended Ms Rayner on Monday, has faced questions over when he was informed that she had sought additional legal advice, which came to the conclusion that she should have paid more tax.
He said: “I knew on Monday that she’d taken advice previously when she did the conveyance, and she was taking further advice, but the actual advice came through on Wednesday morning.”
In her public statement, Ms Rayner said a court-instructed trust was established in 2020 following a settlement with the NHS over a “deeply personal and distressing incident” involving her son.
He was left with life-long disabilities and to ensure he continued to have stability in the family home in Greater Manchester, she said her family had agreed its interest in that property would be transferred to the trust.
She said she had put her stake in the constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne into this trust, which a “leading tax counsel” had later told her made her liable to pay the additional stamp duty on her new Hove flat.
LBC has contacted Labour for comment.
