conveyance

As first reported in The Guardian, the deputy prime minister used Verrico & Associates, a small family conveyancing firm in Kent to handle the purchase of the Hove property at the centre of a tax dispute.

It is understood that the deputy prime minister consulted one individual experienced in conveyancing and two experts on the law around trusts before the purchase.

Rayner's team have not provided details of the law firm she used instead, and it is not clear if this was a conveyancing lawyer who specialises in property transactions or more specialist tax advice.

“The existing conveyance system in the Delta is not sustainable and threatens water supply reliability,” said Joe Mouawad, Eastern Municipal’s general manager.

"They will probably more likely aim to get somebody who's signed up with us and wants to use our conveyancing, as opposed to someone who is a cash buyer," said the administrator.