[Crimson Dynamo]

Sir Laurie Magnus’s conclusions make clear that he thought Angela Rayner had acted in good faith over her stamp duty blunder but nonetheless had broken the ministerial code, writes Ben Riley-Smith.

It all came down to the fact that she was told to get proper tax advice over the purchase but did not.

Had she done that, the ethics adviser said, the Deputy Prime Minister would likely have been told to pay the higher amount of stamp duty.

His conclusion, therefore, that Ms Rayner had broken the ministerial code left her and the Prime Minister with no option. She had to go.