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.
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Last weekend 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.
I like how no one seems bothered that this guy is doing this purely to get access to the Prime Minister and the levers of government.
If this was happening under a Conservative government, you wouldn’t hear the end of the screeching. Yet when it’s a Labour government everyone is just like “yeah, I don’t care”.
Is it too much to ask for some consistency?
I mean, it did happen under a Conservative government, and Sunak defended his failure to declare an interest by saying that he wasn’t privy to his wife’s business interests.
It’s quite possible that it’s that very scandal that prompted Starmer to seek additional guidance.