Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has received an additional £16,000 worth of clothing from Labour peer Lord Alli, according to reports.
Initially declared as funds for his private office while serving as leader of the opposition, the donations—first revealed by The Guardian—included £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February this year. Although declared on time, the donations will now be reclassified as gifts in kind of clothing.
This reclassification follows consultations with Downing Street for guidance regarding the nature of the donations. Sir Keir has maintained that he has always adhered to the rules. Both he, his deputy Angela Rayner, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have since announced they will no longer accept donations of clothing.
Speaking to the BBC last week, Sir Keir acknowledged accepting the clothing while in opposition during a “busy election campaign,” adding, “I won’t be making declarations related to clothing again, understood.”
The issue of donations has stirred controversy for Sir Keir’s government since Labour’s landslide general election win in July. Lord Alli, a frequent donor to the Labour leader, was embroiled in a dispute after it emerged in August that he had received a temporary Downing Street security pass despite not holding an official government role.
The TV executive has also gifted £16,000 worth of clothing and £2,485 worth of glasses to Sir Keir. In addition, the prime minister has defended accepting £20,000 worth of accommodation from Lord Alli during the election campaign to allow his son to prepare for his GCSEs away from media attention at their home.
The SNP has called for an investigation into donations made to Sir Keir and Labour MPs by Lord Alli. In a letter to the parliamentary standards commissioners and senior officials including the independent adviser on ministers’ interests Sir Laurie Magnus, SNP MP Brendan O’Hara warned that unless thoroughly investigated, the revelations would become “Sir Keir Starmer’s version of the expenses scandal.”
O’Hara cautioned that without a full inquiry, the ongoing “drip, drip” of revelations would continue to erode public trust.
These disputes over donations also clouded the beginning of Labour’s annual conference last week. However, Sir Keir is far from the only MP to have received such gifts; many MPs across all parties have declared free tickets to sporting and cultural events in their registers of interests over the past year.