‘Tax Evader B**’: Angela Rayner’s Hove flat defaced with foul graffiti in stamp duty scandal
Angela Rayner’s controversial Hove seaside flat at the centre of the stamp duty row surrounding the deputy PM has been defaced with graffiti.
Vandals sprayed the front of the property and the surrounding areas with profanity and the words ’tax evader’ after she admitted not paying enough stamp duty on the property.
The deputy PM branded the graffiti ‘beyond the pale’ and ’a matter for the police’ as she continues facing calls to step down because of the controversy.
On Wednesday, Ms. Rayner admitted that she had avoided paying a £40,000 stamp duty bill on the purchase of her new Brighton home in a tearful interview.
Vandals have now spray-painted the words ‘tax evader’ in large letters across the front of the £800,000 flat, as well as the word ‘b****’.
Across the road, the words "Tax evader Rayner" and "Rayner tax avoidance" have been graffitied on wooden fencing around a construction site.
Further down the road, a message sprayed on the pavement reportedly read: “Tax evader Rayner,” while a second says “Rayner Sold British Girls 4 Votes.”
A spokesperson for the deputy PM has condemned the graffiti, which extends across the front of the block of flats and on walls and pavements surrounding it.
They said the vandalism is ‘totally unjustifiable’ and ‘beyond the pale’.
"Neither Angela nor her neighbors deserve to be subjected to harassment and intimidation." It will rightly be a matter for the police to take action as they deem appropriate."
It also produced a response from the PM, with a Number 10 spokesperson adding: "The PM has been kept up to date on the substance of developments when appropriate.
"The PM condemns the vandalism in the strongest possible terms," they added.
"Whatever scrutiny politicians face, appalling that private homes should be targeted in this way."
It comes amid claims Rayner used her disabled son’s NHS compensation to buy the second home, located in Hove.
The Telegraph reported that the deputy Prime Minister used £160,000 from a trust set up in her disabled son’s name to buy the £800,000 seafront flat.
The Deputy Prime Minister reportedly sold a 25 percent share of her house to the trust for £162,500.
She said on Wednesday that her son, who was born prematurely, had received an award in 2020 from the NHS.
A trust fund was subsequently set up to look after his interests.
The outlet reported that the payout followed an 11-year legal battle between the Rayners and the hospital where her son was born.
The Deputy PM continues facing intense pressure over her tax affairs and calls to resign after reports about her purchase of the property.
Her Labour colleague Bridget Phillipson declined to say whether Rayner will remain in her role by Christmas while speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.
The Education secretary said she would not “speculate on or pre-judge” the outcome of an investigation by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser.
She added: “We’ve got a process that’s under way with the independent adviser. I’m not going to get into hypotheticals or speculate.
"I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m just not going to do it. That process will run its course."
It later emerged that she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency before purchasing the seaside flat, meaning the Hove property is the only property she owns.
Ms. Rayner referred herself to HMRC and Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser overseeing ministerial interests, after accusations emerged.
In a statement on Wednesday, she said she had taken legal advice when she bought the south coast flat, which suggested she was "liable to pay standard stamp duty."
However, she stated she had then sought "further advice from a leading tax counsel" following headlines about the arrangement.
She learned that the initial advice had been inaccurate and that she was liable to pay additional stamp duty.
That is because she had put her stake in her constituency home in Ashton into a trust set up in 2020 for her disabled son.
Tax experts said the Hove property could not be treated as her only residence because of the nature of the trust.
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