Rayner has admitted she should have paid the higher rate for second homes due to complex trust arrangements around her family home, leaving her liable for an extra £40,000 plus potential penalties of around 20 per cent.

HMRC has increased the number of staff trained to physically monitor suspected tax evaders, as pressure mounts over Angela Rayner’s £40,000 stamp duty scandal.

Official figures, obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) and shared with City AM , show that 337 staff are now trained in covert surveillance, up from 171 people two years ago, in a programme that cost £580,000 last year.

HMRC guidance states that the powers for those trained up on surveillance allow for “drive-bys” of properties and test purchases to gather evidence of fraud.

What’s more, a further 196 empl

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