Angela Rayner resigns after having breached the ethical rules that apply to ministers.
Replacing her is Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who at the same time becomes the new Justice Minister.
The new Foreign Secretary will be Yvette Cooper, previously Home Secretary who is replaced by Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood, reports British media.
Minister has to leave
Rayner is not alone in having to leave the government. Starmer takes the opportunity to rearrange his staff and among others, Ian Murray, Minister for Scotland, and Lucy Powell, Majority Leader in the House of Commons, had to leave on Friday.
The ministerial carousel was not unexpected after a few weeks of turmoil, where not least Rayner's affairs have been in the spotlight of political opponents in both parliament and the press – at the same time as Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has struggled with falling confidence figures.
Rayner's tax offense, which an independent investigation confirms, concerns the failure to pay in connection with an apartment deal last summer.
"I take full responsibility for this mistake", writes Rayner in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Earned half a million
Reports have suggested that Rayner saved 40,000 pounds – just over 500,000 Swedish kronor – by not paying the correct stamp duty on the housing transaction.
Rayner has been one of the Labour government's most prominent names. Keir Starmer has several times this week defended Rayner, but after the investigation was presented, she was forced out.
