Angela Rayner has resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary over failing to pay enough stamp duty on a flat.
She has also resigned as deputy leader of the Labour Party, according to the BBC.
Rayner referred herself to the independent ethics adviser Laurie Magnus after admitting to not paying enough stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, Sussex. The adviser's report has found that Rayner broke the ministerial code.
In a letter to the prime minister, Magnus wrote that he believed Rayner had "acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service", but that her failure to settle her stamp duty land tax liability at the correct level meant she had broken the ministerial code.
Rayner has claimed that the legal advice she initially received about the property was inaccurate due to confusion over a trust set up for her disabled son. However, Magnus detailed in his report that the legal advice Rayner received had acknowledged that it did not constitute expert tax advice and recommended that specific tax advice be obtained.
In her resignation letter to Starmer, Rayner said: "I have long believed that people who serve the British public in government must always observe the highest standards, and while the independent adviser has concluded that I acted in good faith and with honesty and integrity throughout, I accept that I did not meet the highest standards in relation to my recent property purchase."
"I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice given both my position as housing secretary and my complex family arrangements. I take full responsibility for this error. I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount."
In his response, Starmer said that he was "very sad" that Rayner's time as deputy prime minister and housing secretary had "ended in this way".
He added that while she will no longer be in government, she would "remain a major figure in our party".
Speaking to Sky's Electoral Dysfunction podcast on Wednesday, Rayner said she was in "shock" and believed that she had acted properly in relation to the property. She had been previously unable to disclose all details about the case due to a court order.
She told Sky's Electoral Dysfunction podcast on Wednesday that she was in "shock" and believed that she had acted properly in relation to the property. She had been previously unable to disclose all details about the case due to a court order.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Starmer defended Rayner and said he was proud to sit next to someone who had risen to become deputy prime minister from a working-class background.
"[Rayner] has explained her personal circumstances in detail. She has gone over and above in setting out the details, including Mr Speaker, yesterday afternoon, asking the court to lift a confidentiality order in relation to her own son.
"I know from speaking at length to the deputy prime minister, just how difficult that decision was for her and her family. But she did it. She did it to ensure that all information is in the public domain."
Zoe Crowther is a political reporter for CSW's sister title PoliticsHome, where this story first appeared