Keir Starmer defends clothing gifts in dispute over Labour donors

(Bloomberg) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended his handling of gifts from a major Labour donor, seeking to soften a controversy that has cast a shadow over his first term in office.

Starmer is facing a parliamentary inquiry after the Sunday Times reported that he initially failed to disclose that Waheed Ali, a member of the House of Lords, had paid for a personal shopper, designer clothes and alterations for his wife Victoria. But the prime minister told reporters accompanying him to Italy on Monday that he was “very consistent with the rules”.

“My team sought advice from the relevant authorities shortly after the election on what to do and then had to seek further advice, which led to this statement,” Starmer told reporters in Rome after meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday. “Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I will abide by the rules.”

Starmer is seeking to put an end to the negative press surrounding Alli's role in the early days of the Labour government. The prime minister is already under pressure to explain why the TV mogul, who was appointed Labour's chair of general election fundraising in 2022, was given a security pass to 10 Downing Street and also advised on public appointments, Bloomberg revealed last week.

Moreover, the prime minister's refusal on Monday to rule out accepting further gifts from Alli exposes him to fresh accusations of hypocrisy from opposition politicians and the British media, given that the Labour leader spent much of his time in opposition criticising the former Conservative government for its ethical and decency record.

Starmer said the current framework governing how MPs accept and declare gifts was “good”.

“I asked my team to make sure we were following the framework, so they asked for advice on what to do in this situation,” he said. “When they received further advice, they made the statement. And I think it's really important that everyone else follows the rules.”

The Prime Minister also tried to justify accepting football match tickets as a gift on security grounds, citing his “huge” fan status of north London club Arsenal.

“For security reasons I can't go into the stands, so unless I accept a hostess gift I can't go to a game,” Starmer said. “To never go to an Arsenal game again because I can't accept a hostess gift is going a bit too far,” he said, without explaining why he couldn't buy himself a hostess gift.

The Prime Minister's gift declarations during his time in opposition show that he was given tickets to Arsenal matches as gifts from clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, north London rivals Tottenham, West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The controversy over the Alli donations coincided with a drop in Starmer's approval ratings since his election victory, as well as backlash over cutting winter heating allowances for some pensioners and accusations that he painted an overly pessimistic picture of Britain's economic outlook.

Alli, a co-creator of the television series “Survivor” who was appointed to the House of Lords by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, has not only helped the Labour Party raise a record amount of donations, but has also supported its politicians with his own money.

He subsidised the offices of Labour officials to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds while they were in opposition. For example, in April Starmer received £16,200 ($21,400) for “work clothes” and was able to give Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner the use of a New York apartment for a “personal holiday” around New Year's Eve.

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