Sir Keir Starmer is under investigation for a possible breach of parliamentary rules after failing to declare that some of his wife’s high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.
The Labour peer paid for a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer, reportedly both before and after the Labour leader became prime minister in July, according to The Sunday Times.
This year, Sir Keir has received – and disclosed – nearly £19,000 worth of work clothes and several pairs of glasses from Lord Alli, the former chairman of online fashion retailer Asos, The Times reports.
In addition, the peer, whose personal wealth is estimated at £200m, spent £20,000 on accommodation for the now prime minister during the election and a similar sum on “private office” costs, which was also disclosed, the paper says.
A Labour Party spokesperson told Sky News it was an oversight that had been corrected after it “sought advice from the authorities on coming to office”. They added: “We believed we’d been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we’ve declared further items.”
The Tories called for a “full investigation” following The Sunday Times report.
A Conservative Party spokesman 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.”
Lord Alli’s involvement with the Labour leader has already proved controversial after it emerged he had been given a Downing Street security pass without apparently having a government role.
The revelations are awkward for the prime minister, who has promised to clean up politics.
Sir Keir, like all MPs, must declare any of his relevant interests under rules set up to protect politics from improper influence and uphold transparency.
The Times said the prime minister’s office approached the parliamentary authorities to make the late declarations last Tuesday.
His advisers were already in touch with them by then after several designers had approached Lady Starmer asking if she was interested in free products such as clothes, jewellery and make-up.
Staff had asked if the prime minister would need to declare his wife being given those items if she accepted and were told he would.
That prompted his team to ask if the previous gifts from Lord Alli should also have been declared on the same basis and it was decided they did.
They then wrote to the authorities to update the prime minister’s register of interests, which is scheduled to be published next month. Lady Starmer has separately declined to accept the offers from designers.
The UK will play its “full part” in peacekeeping in Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The prime minister told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the conflict with Russia was not just about “sovereignty in Ukraine” but about the impact it also had on the UK, including the cost of living crisis.
Sir Keir was speaking to Sky News while on a surprise visit to Ukraine on Thursday – his first since his party’s landslide election win six months ago.
The purpose of the trip was to discuss the next steps for Ukraine, with the situation now more uncertain following Donald Trump’s election victory in November.
Mr Trump, whose inauguration takes place on 20 January, has said he wants a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine within 100 days.
But some European leaders fear pushing Kyiv into a deal could lead to Ukraine ceding some of its territory to Vladimir Putin.
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Sir Keir said he did not want “to get ahead of ourselves” but that the UK would play its “full part” in any peace negotiations – including by deploying British troops for peacekeeping.
Asked if he would be prepared to do that, the prime minister replied: “Well, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but I do have indicated that we will play our full part – because this isn’t just about sovereignty in Ukraine.
“It’s about what the impact is back in the United Kingdom and our values, our freedom, our democracy. Because if Russia succeeds in this aggression, it will impact all of us for a very, very long time.”
Sir Keir said the drone threat was “a reminder of what Ukraine is facing every day” and that the war was brought about by “Russian aggression”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Sir Keir was asked about his views on Ukraine’s longstanding desire to join NATO – something President Putin strongly opposes.
At a NATO summit in Washington last summer, the alliance’s members announced that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path to NATO membership.
“We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements and decide its own future, free from outside interference. Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” the declaration said.
However, Mr Zelenskyy has somewhat tempered his language around NATO membership, telling Sky News in an exclusive interview in November that a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controlled falls “under the NATO umbrella” – allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later “in a diplomatic way”.
However, Mr Trump has acknowledged Moscow’s opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, saying: “Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I can understand their feeling about that.”
Watch the full interview with Beth Rigby and Sir Keir Starmer on the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge at 7pm.
The president-elect cannot officially nominate anyone until after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20, but the US Senate has been holding hearings to question his potential picks.