Property rescue package unveiled

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The long-awaited freeze on the unpopular levy will form part of an emergency rescue package for hard-pressed home buyers and owners.

But the news was mired in yet more confusion as Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, who was unveiling the rescue package, repeatedly refused to comment on the stamp duty holiday. She said: "You will have to ask the Chancellor."

There was no immediate comment from Alistair Darling's Treasury team.

The issue threatened to overshadow the launch of Ms Blears's own set of measures to help families struggling to pay mortgages.

Ms Blears said her scheme was not aimed at people who had been reckless in their borrowing but at "decent" families who might find themselves in difficulties.

"We are looking at about £200 million over the next couple of years for families who are struggling with mortgages, there will also be £100 million to help with mortgage interest payments to keep people in their homes," she told BBC Breakfast.

"I think that is a very good use of money because otherwise you do end up spending a fortune... it is not just bricks and mortar when you get repossessed, it can destroy whole families."

Under the scheme, vulnerable families who are no longer able to keep up with their mortgage repayments will be offered the chance to sell their home and rent it back, or to enter into a shared equity or shared ownership scheme on the property.

The plan for a stamp duty freeze first emerged last month but was met by official silence - leading to claims that the housing market had been paralysed by dithering between the Treasury and Downing Street.