The Government's stamp duty changes are raising twice as much money from home buyers as initially expected, HMRC figures show.

Analysis by accounting firm Blick Rothenberg shows that the Treasury has so far pocketed as much has £2bn as a result of the 3 per cent "landlord tax".

Originally officials had estimated it would make half as much from the policy in the four years between 2016 and 2020.

Under the policy, which was introduced in April 2016, anyone buying a second home or buy-to-let property must pay an extra 3 per cent in stamp duty on top of ordinary stamp duty.

The figures suggest that the policy has not significantly deterred landlords or second home owners from buying up properties.