David Lammy named UK deputy prime minister amid Labour Party turmoil
Al Jazeera
Lammy appointment follows resignation of left-wing champion Angela Rayner, who stepped down over a tax scandal.
United Kingdom foreign minister David Lammy has been appointed as the country’s new deputy prime minister, replacing Angela Rayner after she resigned amid a tax scandal.
Rayner’s resignation on Friday for breaching ministerial code after underpaying tax on her flat prompted a major cabinet reshuffle, with Lammy’s elevation to deputy prime minister among a raft of new appointments.
The departure of Rayner – a figure viewed by many as a ballast of the left and a potential successor to Prime Minister Keir Starmer – has created turmoil in the Labour Party, which now trails hard-right firebrand Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in national polls.
In a letter to Starmer on Friday, Rayner conceded she “did not meet the highest standards” and would resign from her roles as housing minister and deputy leader of Labour.
“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice,” she said, having last week admitted to underpaying a surcharge on the flat. She said she took “full responsibility for this error”.
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