Chancellor Alistair Darling has rejected a third request for a meeting with estate agents over proposals to lift stamp duty, refusing to be pushed on the issue.

Whitehall sources have told The Times there was increasing anger within the Treasury over the fallout of the stamp duty issue, which aids of Darling and department officials have been left to field.

Peter Bolton-King, the National Association of Estate Agents' chief executive, said he had written to the chancellor for the third time enclosing details of a survey conducted by his organisation, showing one in four estate agents had seen agreed house sales fall through as a direct result of the uncertainty.

But Treasury aides said the chancellor was adamant that he was not going to be pushed into taking any action on stamp duty.

Further reading:

Stamp duty dither threatens property market

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