Keir Starmer alleged to have broken rules over party donor’s gifts to wife

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The prime minister made a late declaration of a personal shopper and clothes for his wife paid for by Lord Alli



Keir Starmer is alleged to have broken parliamentary rules by failing to declare donations of clothing for his wife from the Labour donor Waheed Alli.

The gifts to Victoria Starmer were not initially declared in the register of MPs’ interests, the Sunday Times reported.

Starmer approached the parliamentary authorities on Tuesday to make a late declaration after being given updated advice on what needed to be registered.

The donations reportedly covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Starmer before and after Labour’s election win in July.

MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days.

The Tories have demanded a full investigation into the Starmers’ links with Lord Alli, who has donated £500,000 to Labour since 2020.

A No 10 spokesperson said: “We sought advice from the authorities on coming to office.

“We believed we had been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we have declared further items.”

The guide to the Commons rules states MPs should register “any benefit given to any third party, whether or not this accompanied a benefit for him or her, if the Member is aware, or could reasonably be expected to be aware, of the benefit and that it was given because of his or her membership of the House or parliamentary or political activities”.

Last month it emerged that Alli had been given a Downing Street security pass temporarily without apparently having a government role.

The row was dubbed the “passes for glasses” affair because the television mogul had previously donated tens of thousands of pounds worth of clothing, accommodation and “multiple pairs” of spectacles to the Labour leader. There is no suggestion that the peer has broken any rules.

Alli, 59, was the youngest member of the House of Lords when he was ennobled in 1998.

A Conservative party spokesperson said: “It’s taken just 10 weeks for Keir Starmer to face an investigation for his conduct.

“After facing allegations of cronyism and now apparent serious breaches of parliamentary rules there must be a full investigation into the passes for glasses scandal.

“No doubt the millions of vulnerable pensioners across the country who face choosing between heating and eating would jump at the chance for free clothes just to keep warm in the face of Labour’s cruel cut.”

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Lammy: ‘Starmer took donor’s gifts because there is no taxpayer funding for clothes’



Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria accepted donations towards clothing because there are no taxpayer funds to cover UK leaders’ wardrobe costs, David Lammy has said.

The Foreign Secretary said the couple had accepted donations so they could “look their best” to represent the UK when other countries allowed lavish, taxpayer-funded budgets for clothing for their leaders.

Mr Lammy told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “The Prime Minister did declare funds that he received from Lord Alli, he’s then gone back to the parliamentary commissioner to further check details on some of those funds that have made their way to his wife.

“So he has done that, and he is seeking to comply with the rules. So this is not an issue of transparency. He is attempting to be transparent.”

He added: “I’ve just come back from the United States, where US presidents and first ladies have a huge budget paid from the taxpayer so that they look their best on behalf of the US people. We don’t have that system over here.

“The truth is that successive prime ministers, unless you’re a billionaire like the last one, do rely on donations, political donations, so they can look their best, both in the hope of representing the country, if you’re in the opposition, or indeed as prime minister.”

Sir Keir had a high-profile legal career before entering politics and Mr Lammy said “I’m not suggesting the Prime Minister is broke”, but “successive prime ministers want to look their best – and their partners – for the country, that is what lies behind this”.

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...there is no taxpayer funding for clothes...

Dear God, is this muppet for real?

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No inquiry into gifts for Starmer's wife, say No10



Parliament's standards watchdog will not investigate whether Sir Keir Starmer broke rules by not declaring clothes gifted to his wife by Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli, Downing Street has said.

The Conservatives had asked the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg to investigate why gifts covering a personal shopper and clothing alterations were not initially declared in the MPs' register of interests.

The prime minister has maintained his team had "reached out for advice on what declaration should be made" and that "rules are being followed".

While Mr Greenberg has yet to comment, Downing Street confirmed on Monday that he would not pursue an investigation.

In a letter to Mr Greenberg, Conservative shadow minister Andrew Griffith called for an investigation into Sir Keir’s “failure to declare".

The letter states: "There must be a full investigation into this scandal given this is not the first instance of the prime minister failing to declare donations and abiding by parliamentary rules."

The prime minister was previously referred to the parliamentary standards commissioner in 2022, when he was found to have been late in registering eight interests, including tickets to football matches and the sale of a plot of land.

Griffith said: "It beggars belief that the prime minister thinks it's acceptable that pensioners on £13,000 a year can afford to heat their home when he earns 12 times that but apparently can't afford to clothe himself or his wife.

"While his top team want a taxpayer-funded clothes budget to look sharp, people across the country are forced to make tough choices in the face of Labour's damaging decisions.

"Labour promised change, but in 10 short weeks all they've delivered is a change of clothes for themselves. Labour have made the political choice to put themselves and their union paymasters before the most vulnerable."

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Labour promised change, but in 10 short weeks all they've delivered is a change of clothes

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Frankly, the whole thing stinks.

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Peer gave Keir Starmer more clothes worth £16,000, declared as money for private office



Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.

The donations, comprising £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024, bring the total amount in gifted clothes to £32,000.

These latest gifts were not previously known about as they were described as being “for the private office of the leader of the opposition”.

The revelation is likely to reignite a row over the extent of donations that Starmer and some of his frontbench team acccepted while in opposition, much of it from Alli.

It is understood that Starmer has since sought advice from the registrar of MPs’ interests over the two donations, and they will be recategorised as donations in kind of clothing. The original donations were declared on time.

Such errors do not necessarily result in a formal reprimand. It emerged earlier this month that the parliamentary standards watchdog will not investigate another instance in which Starmer initially failed to declare clothes donated to his wife, Victoria, also by Alli.

Starmer defended the use of the apartment earlier this week, saying he took the offer so that his son would have a place to study for his GCSEs without having to walk past journalists and protesters outside their family home.

The prime minister brought up the “human” reason for having moved his family out of his Kentish Town home in north London, saying no cash changed hands as a result.

Starmer has accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets during his time as Labour leader, mostly to football matches, but also £4,000 for hospitality at a Taylor Swift concert and £698 for Coldplay tickets in Manchester.

The SNP asked for an investigation into Alli’s donations on Friday in a letter to the standards commissioners in the House of Commons and House of Lords, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, Sir Laurie Magnus, and the cabinet secretary, Simon Case.

The SNP MP Brendan O’Hara wrote that the revelations had “become Sir Keir Starmer’s version of the expenses scandal” and that unless the matter were “comprehensively investigated”, then it was “inevitable that the damaging drip, drip of revelations will continue to erode public trust”.

He also asked for Alli’s Downing Street pass, which he held for a time after the election, to be looked into.

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Starmer repays more than £6,000 in gifts after donations row



Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since becoming prime minister, following a backlash over donations.

The prime minister is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.

It comes after Sir Keir and other cabinet ministers have faced weeks of criticism for accepting freebies from wealthy donors.

Sir Keir has committed to tightening the rules around ministerial hospitality to improve transparency.

Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, the prime minister said his government would bring forward new principles for donations "as until now politicians have used their best individual judgement to decide".

"I took the decision that until those principles were in place it was right to repay these particular payments,” he said.

Earlier, a Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that the ministerial code will be updated and will include “a new set of principles on gifts and hospitality” commissioned by Sir Keir.

"Ahead of the publication of the new code, the prime minister has paid for several entries on his own register.

"This will appear in the next register of members' interests."

A Conservative Party spokesperson said Sir Keir "will only be transparent when his back's against the wall".

The party said Wednesday's announcement did not explain why the prime minister accepted the donations in the first place and questioned why other senior party members had not paid back their gifts and hospitality.

The gifts Starmer has paid for include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group worth £2,800, two from the Football Association at a cost of £598, and four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939.

An £839 clothing rental agreement with Edeline Lee, the designer recently worn by his wife to London Fashion Week, along with one hour of hair care and makeup, was also covered by the prime minister.

Sir Keir has also accepted a further £6,134 in "clothing and personal support" for Lady Starmer in June, from Labour donor Lord Alli.

The details of the donations have been published, external in the latest register of interests for MPs on Wednesday.

It comes as Parliament's standards watchdog said Lord Alli was being investigated over allegedly failing to register interests.

A complaint was made during the last week about the Labour donor, who has been at the centre of a row over his donations to Sir Keir and other MPs.

Sir Keir has said he will not accept donations of clothing as prime minister.

When asked about the Lord Alli probe, he said: "I'm not going to comment on Lord Alli. The investigation will run its course."

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Too little, too late! Reeves is currently heading the betting odds to replace him.