Firm that handled purchase of £800k Hove flat accuses Deputy PM of ‘scapegoating’
04 September 2025
Daily Telegraph
Angela Rayner’s lawyers claim they did not give her tax advice and have been made “scapegoats”, The Telegraph can disclose.
The conveyancing firm that handled the purchase of her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, insisted it had done nothing wrong and was only acting on the information she provided.
“We did not and never have given tax or trust advice,” the firm told The Telegraph. “It’s something we always refer our clients to an accountant or tax expert for.”
The comments are a major blow to the Deputy Prime Minister, who has blamed “legal advice that I received” for her failure to pay a £40,000 stamp duty bill on the purchase of her seaside holiday home.
Sir Keir Starmer indicated that he was prepared to sack Ms Rayner if his ethics adviser concluded that she broke the ministerial code when underpaying stamp duty.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, said: “This is yet more damning evidence that Angela Rayner has not been honest with the British public. From the start, we’ve had nothing but excuses, deflections and lies. Enough is enough.
“How many final straws can there be for Angela Rayner? She must resign or Keir Starmer must finally find the backbone to sack her.”
The scandal began last week when The Telegraph revealed that Ms Rayner had avoided paying £40,000 in stamp duty that would normally be owed on a second home.
Her spokesman initially insisted she had “paid the relevant duty”, but she commissioned an independent KC to examine her tax affairs. On Monday evening, he told the Deputy Prime Minister that she had not paid enough tax.
On Wednesday, after a week of pressure, Ms Rayner gave an interview admitting that she underpaid £40,000 of stamp duty on the seafront flat. She insisted she had relied on “legal advice that I received that said that I was liable to pay the standard stamp duty”.
But Verrico & Associates, Ms Rayner’s conveyancer on the Hove flat, appeared to contradict her version of events.
Joanna Verrico, the managing director, told The Telegraph: “We acted for Ms Rayner when she purchased the flat in Hove. We did not and never have given tax or trust advice. It’s something we always refer our clients to an accountant or tax expert for.
“The stamp duty for the Hove flat was calculated using HMRC’s own online calculator, based on the figures and the information provided by Ms Rayner.
“That’s what we used, and it told us we had to pay £30,000 based on the information provided to us. We believe that we did everything correctly and in good faith. Everything was exactly as it should be.
“We probably are being made scapegoats for all this, and I have got the arrows stuck in my back to show it. We are not an inexperienced firm, but we’re not qualified to give advice on trust and tax matters, and we advise clients to seek expert advice on these.”
Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, is investigating Ms Rayner’s claim and is expected to report back as soon as Friday. She has also referred herself to HMRC.
The ministerial code states that there is an “overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law”. There are also requirements to be “open” and “honest”. The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have repeatedly called on Conservative ministers to resign both over tax rows and when the ministerial code is broken.
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir was asked five times whether he would sack Ms Rayner if Sir Laurie concluded that she had breached the ministerial code.
The Prime Minister initially declined to answer directly, insisting the “process” needed to be followed, but eventually said he was willing to “act” once given the report.
Sir Keir said: “What I’m saying is there’s a clear procedure. I strengthened that procedure. It is now taking place. I am expecting a result pretty quickly. I do want it to be comprehensive, as you’d expect. And then of course I will act on whatever the report is that’s put in front of me.”
The remarks were noticeably less effusive in praise than delivered on Wednesday, when Sir Keir said he was “very proud” to serve alongside Ms Rayner.
The controversy, just days after the Prime Minister attempted a reset by overhauling his Number 10 team and declaring “phase two” of his premiership, creates a political headache.
In January, Ms Rayner sold a 25 per cent share of the family home in Ashton-under-Lyne for £162,500. The buyer of this share was a trust established for her disabled son, who was handed an NHS payout following problems during his birth.
Months later, Ms Rayner purchased the £800,000 seafront flat in Hove through local estate agent Sam Ranger of Mishons.
The Telegraph revealed last week that she told HMRC the Hove flat was her primary home for stamp duty purposes, meaning she paid about £30,000 in tax, rather than the £70,000 owed for a second home.
However, because her son is under 18, Ms Rayner still technically had an interest in her Ashton property and should therefore have paid the full £70,000.
It is understood the Deputy Prime Minister is arguing that she received at least three pieces of legal advice, including from the trust overseeing her son’s affairs and a conveyancer, supporting her initial position.
Verrico & Associates, based in a small office attached to a Co-op convenience store in Herne Bay, Kent, confirmed that it had advised her on the purchase of the flat.
It is understood that the firm has been in close contact with its regulator, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, and is preparing to hand over all its advice.
A spokesman for the regulator said: “We have asked them for a full account of events. They are not licensed to provide tax advice. What they are licensed to do is to provide conveyancing advice, and they are regulated to the highest standards.”
Verrico is a six-person firm that does not employ any qualified solicitors. Instead, they are licensed conveyancers who only focus on property advice and typically handle straightforward transactions. On LinkedIn, Ms Verrico said that she “is 82 and still ticking and working and enjoying it!”
Experts said Ms Rayner’s choice of firm cast serious doubt over whether she had sought appropriate legal advice. By her own admission, the trust was a “complex” set up.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory party chairman, said it was baffling that Ms Rayner had failed to pay the extra £40,000 in stamp duty.
He said: “It is not complicated. It is quite simple and set out clearly on the HMRC website. It is very clear you should pay the extra stamp duty if your children own a property through a trust and you then buy a second property. The reality is it is not complex. You can go on to the HMRC website and find all this very easily.”
Figures close to the developments said Sir Keir was genuinely trying to keep his deputy in place, with Cabinet ministers pushed out onto the airwaves for a second day to defend her.
Having one of the most prominent Left-wing Labour figures inside his Cabinet rather than on the backbenches may well be politically advantageous for the Prime Minister.
But there are also risks in sticking by a Housing Secretary who has admitted failing to pay the right amount of property tax on a second home, especially if more tax rises are coming in the Budget in November.
As well as mounting criticism from political opponents calling for Ms Rayner’s sacking, there were eye-catching comments from figures in the Labour Party.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, said it was “on all of us” to understand the tax rules, telling broadcasters: “Angela tried to do the right thing and, of course, it is incumbent on all of us to try to properly understand the rules, and she is now working to make sure that the correct tax is paid.”
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, repeatedly refused to say whether Ms Rayner should stay in her post.
Ms Rayner has not responded to a request for comment. She released a lengthy statement on Wednesday in which she said she would fully comply with all investigations.
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