Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000-worth of gifts he has accepted.

It started with controversy over his wife’s clothes and has escalated since Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project revealed he has been gifted more freebies and hospitality than any other MP since 2019 – a total worth £107,145.

Starmer branded ‘ivory tower leader’ – latest updates

His acceptance of football tickets has proved particularly contentious, with some government officials reportedly concerned about a potential conflict of interest.

But what exactly has Sir Keir been criticised for, what are his party’s concerns, and what has he said about it?

His wife’s clothes

Talk of the PM’s gifts began last weekend, when The Sunday Times reported he had breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare some of his wife’s high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.

Specifically, it was revealed Lord Alli, former chairman of online fashion retailer Asos, paid for a personal shopper, clothes, and alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer both before and after the Labour leader became prime minister in July.

MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days of receiving them, but it is understood the donations for Lady Starmer’s clothes were submitted late.

Conservatives have been calling for an investigation into the potential breach of rules, which a spokesperson for Number 10 said was an oversight that had been corrected.

“We believed we’d been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we’ve declared further items,” the spokesperson told Sky News.

Sir Keir has also received – and disclosed – other gifts from Lord Alli totalling £39,122.

These donations included an unspecified donation of accommodation worth £20,437, “work clothing” worth £16,200, and multiple pairs of glasses equivalent to £2,485.

Some Tory MPs have condemned Sir Keir for accepting the gifts at all, with shadow science and technology secretary Andrew Griffith saying: “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.”

His comments refer to the government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments for most pensioners.

Football tickets

The Premier League is one of the biggest donors of hospitality, and Sir Keir – a renowned Arsenal fan – has received almost £40,000 in tickets overall since December 2019.

He has declared £12,588 of gifts from the Premier League, numerous hospitality tickets to Arsenal matches costing well over £10,000 in total, plus two Euros finals tickets costing £1,628 and thousands of pounds’ worth of tickets from other Premier League clubs.

Sky News has learnt officials are warning the prime minister that he could be opening himself up to inappropriate lobbying by continuing to accept football tickets, as the government is planning to set up an Independent Football Regulator for the professional men’s game.

Ministers are usually told to avoid hospitality from any organisation connected to an ongoing government regulatory decision.

Talk over his gifts, which include four tickets to a Taylor Swift concert totalling £4,000, also comes amid controversy over the prices concert-goers and football fans are having to pay to attend events.

What has Starmer said in response to criticism?

Speaking to journalists this week, the prime minister said “all MPs get gifts” and he thinks the need to declare them is “a good framework”.

“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I’m going to comply with the rules,” he said.

“It’s very important to me that the rules are followed. I’ve always said that. I said that before the election. I reinforced it after the election.

“And that’s why shortly after the election, my team reached out for advice on what declarations should be made so it’s in accordance with the rules.

“They then sought out for further advice more recently, as a result of which they’ve made the relevant declarations.”

On his acceptance of Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a massive Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands because of security reasons. Therefore, if I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck’.

“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”

Read more:
Explained: How MPs declare financial interests
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Another of the opposition’s critiques of the PM has been his so-called “hypocrisy”.

On Sunday, former home secretary and Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly told Sky News Sir Keir was “very, very critical of the Conservatives” over similar controversies and had “basically got his job by criticising others”.

While Sir Keir didn’t comment on gifts during his election campaign, he regularly labelled former PM Rishi Sunak and his government as “out of touch” with the public’s financial struggles.

Some of the PM’s cabinet members have leapt to his defence – though with differing arguments in his favour.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News Sir Keir works “incredibly hard” and therefore deserves a “wider life experience” rather than simply working every second of the day.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has argued prime ministers and their spouses must “look their best” on the world stage, and therefore accepting gifts of clothes is acceptable when there is no taxpayer-funded budget for it.

But there have been murmurings of discontent within the Labour Party, with some backbenchers telling Sky News they are deeply frustrated with the way this story has been handled by Sir Keir’s top team.

Sir Keir Starmer is in a “pressure” job and should be allowed to enjoy gifts and hospitality if it is declared correctly, a cabinet minister has told Sky News.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said anyone who is a prime minister “spends pretty much every bit of their waking life working on it” and if they are able to do something important to them “I don’t think that’s a problem”.

Politics Live: Anger as Starmer accepts thousands in gifts

It comes after Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project revealed Sir Keir has received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.

Since December 2019, he received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.

The Premier League is one of the biggest donors of hospitality, and Sir Keir – a renowned Arsenal fan – has received almost £40,000 in tickets overall since December 2019.

Mr Reynolds said: “I think anyone who’s doing a job of the pressure, of the scale, of the importance that the prime minister does, spends pretty much every bit of their waking life working on it.

“And if they’ve got the chance for a little bit of time with family or something that’s important to them, in this case, lifelong support for a football team, I don’t think that’s a problem.”

He added people “would reasonably expect” prime ministers to sit in a directors’ box at a sporting event for security reasons.

Asked about accepting free tickets to concerts like Taylor Swift and Coldplay, he said: “These are major cultural, sporting events. I think it’s important people in public life have some connection to that.”

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

The business secretary went on to say there are “clear rules” in place and he has “no objection to how the system works”.

Read more:
See how many gifts your MP declares
Our guide to exploring the Westminster Accounts

He added the government’s controversial decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for most pensioners should not be “conflated” with the prime minister accepting freebies.

“I think to conflate the two issues and forget the fact that there are major issues facing the UK that can only be addressed because we’ve got a change of government wouldn’t be right,” he said.

Labour MP brands Starmer an ‘ivory tower leader’ – is that the case?

Mhari Aurora

Political correspondent

@MhariAurora

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Sky News this morning gave a valiant attempt to explain, justify and defend the prime minister’s appetite for free gifts.

However, Reynolds decided to take a different approach to that of Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who on Sunday said that PMs and their spouses must look their best on the world stage and therefore accepting gifts of clothes was acceptable when there is no taxpayer funded budget for it.

Today, Reynolds’ excuse was that the prime minister works incredibly hard and deserves a “wider life experience” rather than simply working every second of the day.

But with allegations of a conflict of interest casting an ugly shadow over the PM’s appetite for free tickets to football matches while his government is considering implementing a football regulator – something that No 10 categorically denies – this story looks set to rumble on into Labour conference.

Speaking to Labour backbenchers, they are deeply frustrated with the way this story has been handled by Starmer’s top team.

One even accused Starmer of being an “ivory tower leader”, explaining the rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy – like cutting winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners – was jarring with the image of a prime minister enjoying over £100,000 worth of gifts since December 2019.

During the election campaign, Starmer branded himself as a man of the people while attacking Rishi Sunak for being “out of touch” with ordinary people.

Now Starmer is beginning to learn that branding yourself as holier-than-thou may not have been the genius political strategy it appeared to be three months ago.

Sir Keir defended his right to continue to take football freebies earlier this week, saying that because of security reasons: “If I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game.”

He is also under pressure after a report in the BBC claimed his chief of staff Sue Gray is paid more than £170,000, which is a higher salary than the prime minister is paid.

Mr Reynolds said the salaries of advisers “are not set by politicians” and “there’s an official process that does that”.

He added: “Sue Gray is getting on with the job of this government delivering on our promises, I think that’s what matters more than anything else for anyone who works in Downing Street, and I can assure you that is exactly what is happening.”

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Just days before Labour meets for their party conference, they’re dealing with criticism over chief of staff Sue Gray’s salary, which is more than the PM’s, and Sir Keir Starmer’s gifts. He’s received more freebies than any other MP since December 2019.

And Foreign Secretary David Lammy is meeting his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Paris, following Tuesday’s pager explosions across Lebanon. The visit is aimed at salvaging stalled negotiations to end the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Send a WhatsApp to Jack and Sam on 07511 867 633 or email them: jackandsam@sky.uk

You can find and search the Westminster Accounts here: news.sky.com/westminsteraccounts