Conveyancing firm claims it provided no tax advice in Rayner flat purchase
The conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an £800,000 flat on the south coast said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided.
Joanna Verrico, the head of a small, family-run firm in Kent, stated on Thursday that it had not given any advice to the deputy prime minister regarding the amount of stamp duty to pay.
The advice given to Rayner is central to questions about why she underpaid her tax by as much as £40,000, and it is likely to be a key element of a report from the Prime Minister’s standards adviser, Laurie Magnus, which is expected to be submitted on Friday.
Keir Starmer refused to say whether he would dismiss Rayner if she was found to have breached the ministerial code when asked repeatedly on Thursday. He said: “My experience is [Magnus] will be comprehensive in the report that he gives me. He will be quick, and that’s what I’m expecting. So, I want to let that process take its course.”
Verrico, who the Guardian revealed on Thursday was the conveyancer for the purchase, said in a statement: “I confirm my firm does not deal with trusts or offer tax advice. The stamp duty land tax was calculated using the HMRC calculator and was strictly based on the facts and information provided to us.”
She added: “We believe we did everything correctly and in good faith.”
The statement increases pressure on Rayner, who says she received legal advice before buying the flat in May that she only needed to pay the lower rate of stamp duty because she did not own any other property.
Supporters say the deputy prime minister believed she did not need to declare an interest in her family house in Greater Manchester because she had sold her stake in it to a trust in her disabled son’s name. However, the terms of that trust meant she retained an interest in the property for tax purposes.
Rayner’s allies say she did not initially realize the tax implications of her son’s trust, even though it is understood that she consulted two experts on trust law before completing the purchase.
After details of the purchase were published in the press, Rayner sought separate advice from Jonathan Peacock, an experienced barrister specializing in tax. He provided her draft advice on Monday, even as the prime minister continued to defend her, and a final opinion on Wednesday, after which she told the Guardian she had underpaid her tax and was in talks with HMRC about resolving the issue.
The Guardian has seen the document filed with the Land Registry to apply to change the name on the deed to the Hove flat. The document was filed by Verrico, under a reference that includes Rayner’s name.
According to its website, Verrico & Associates Ltd is a small firm based in Herne Bay run by Verrico and her three daughters. Experts have said that small, high-street law firms offering general legal services may not have the expertise to handle the complex law that determines the ownership of properties held in trust. It is not yet known who Rayner relied on for advice on the trust.
Downing Street said on Thursday: “The final legal opinion was received by the deputy prime minister on Wednesday morning, at which point she immediately took steps to refer herself to the independent adviser, and begin the process of engaging with HMRC.”
Magnus could submit his report as soon as Friday, with its outcome likely to determine the deputy prime minister’s political fate.
Rayner received backing on Thursday morning from the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who said: “I have full confidence in Angela Rayner. She’s a good friend and a 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, in contact with HMRC, to ensure that the correct tax is paid.
“Anyone who saw Angela’s statement yesterday, saw her interview yesterday, I think will have a lot of sympathy with some of the challenging family circumstances surrounding this, around Angela’s disabled son.”
Earlier on Sky News, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “The deputy prime minister sought advice at the point of purchase of the house, which enacted in line with the advice that she received.
“The deputy prime minister has been clear for some time that she believed she had acted in good faith, that she had paid what was required of her through that house purchase. It then became clear subsequently that that wasn’t the case, that additional stamp duty was owed.
“That was following new, fresh legal advice, but as I say there were limitations on what could be discussed given the existence of a court order that was there to protect her family and her son.”
On Wednesday night, Rayner’s Hove flat was vandalized with graffiti saying “tax evader,” an act her spokesperson called “unjustifiable and beyond the pale.”
Deputy Editor
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