The Labour Party has come under fire after Angela Rayner admitted that she did not pay the right amount of stamp duty on her second home. However, a press conference held after today's Prime Minister's Questions revealed that Keir Starmer intends to stick by his Deputy Prime Minister despite the scandal. Rayner admitted to not paying the full tax owed on the purchase of her second home in an interview with Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

The Daily Telegraph first reported that she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty on a flat in Hove by removing her name from the deeds of another property she owns in Greater Manchester. The Deputy PM described the scenario as a "complex living arrangement", but it has still come under scrutiny from opposition parties for the move. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch today called on the Prime Minister to sack his deputy, but Starmer stuck by his colleague during an intense PMQs this afternoon.

At a press briefing with the PM's official spokesman and his press secretary, political journalists were told that Starmer has "full confidence" in Rayner as she referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards.

The PM's spokesperson said that the Labour Party leader "supports people paying what is due". The Deputy PM could now face a fine for failing to pay the stamp duty owed on the purchase of her second property.

In an interview following the scandal, Rayner said: "I've been in shock, really, because I thought I'd done everything properly, and I relied on the advice that I received and I'm devastated because I've always upheld the rules and always have felt proud to do that.

"That it is devastating for me and the fact that the reason why those confidential clauses were in place was to protect my son, who, through no fault of his own, he's vulnerable, he's got this life changing, lifelong conditions and I don't want him or anything to do with his day-to-day life, to be subjected to that level of scrutiny."

Clashing with the Prime Minister this afternoon, Tory leader Badenock argued: "If he had a backbone he would sack her". However, the PM said that he was "very proud" to be sitting alongside Rayner, who had risen from "a working class background" and was building homes for the country.

"She's gone over and above in setting out the details, including yesterday afternoon asking a court to lift a confidentiality order in relation to her own son," he said.

"I am very proud to sit alongside a deputy prime minister who is building 1.5m homes, who is bringing the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation, and has come from a working-class background to become deputy prime minister of this country."

In her statement, Ms Rayner said: “When purchasing the property my understanding, on advice from lawyers, was that my circumstances meant I was liable for the standard rate of stamp duty.

“However, given the recent allegations in the press I have subsequently sought further advice from a leading tax counsel to review that position and to ensure I am fully compliant with all tax provisions.