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Louise Thomas
Editor
Sir Keir Starmer has paid back £6,000 in gifts and hospitality as the so-called “freebies row” threatens to spiral out of control and plunge his government into chaos.
The prime minister’s gesture came on a day when Tory leadership candidates described his government as “the most venal in history”.
This was shortly followed by the announcement of an investigation launched into the probity of billionaire Labour donor Waheed Alli who was responsible for many of the gifts to Starmer, his wife Victoria and many members of the cabinet.
And while Sir Keir was trying to end the criticism and get his government back on track, the row appeared to intensify as it was revealed that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner received £836 worth of hospitality while partying in Ibiza. Added to that, foreign secretary David Lammy headed a group of Labour MPs and senior figures receiving Taylor Swift concert tickets.
After weeks of claiming he had done nothing wrong, the prime minister appears to have accepted the criticism of the fact he has pocketed £107,000 in gifts since 2019.
As a result he has announced that he is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer. He has not decided to reject the use of the directors’ box at Arsenal matches though.
Sir Keir attempted to avoid questions on the issue when he held a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, only noting in his opening statement that the decision to pay back the gifts was part of the “change” he had promised in the election.
He refused to be drawn further or comment on Lord Alli in a press conference where he decided to only take a small number of questions from handpicked journalists.
Before the election Sir Keir had vowed to “clean up” British politics but has faced weeks of criticism for accepting tens of thousands of pounds worth of freebies from wealthy donors.
As the row over freebies for him and members of the cabinet has escalated, Sir Keir has tried twice before to shut down the row.
Just before the Labour conference he said he, chancellor Rachel Reeves and deputy prime minister Angela Rayner would not take any more donations for clothes. Sir Keir himself had been given glasses worth thousands of pounds.
But with the continued scandal overshadowing Labour’s conference, Sir Keir sent out chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden to announce a tweak in the rules on transparency to close a loophole for ministers to declare gifts.
However, this still failed to close down criticism and as the four Tory leadership candidates used his woes in their pitches to take over from Rishi Sunak, it was announced that Lord Alli was under investigation. This was swiftly followed by Sir Keir’s announcement that he was paying the money back for some of Lord Alli’s gifts and other freebies.
The prime minister has now also committed to overhauling hospitality rules for ministers to ensure better transparency about what is provided following the backlash.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister has commissioned a new set of principles on gifts and hospitality to be published as part of the updated ministerial code.
“Ahead of the publication of the new code, the prime minister has paid for several entries on his own register. This will appear in the next register of members’ interests.”
Gifts paid for by Sir Keir include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group totalling £2,800, two from the Football Association at a cost of £598, and four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939.
An £839 clothing rental agreement with Edeline Lee, the designer recently worn by his wife to London Fashion Week, along with one hour of hair and makeup, was also covered by the prime minister. Sir Keir said it was “right” for him to repay the cost of some gifts.
He told reporters travelling with him to Belgium: “We came in as a government of change.
“We are now going to bring forward principles for donations because, until now, politicians have used their best individual judgement on a case-by-case basis. I think we need some principles of general application.
“So, I took the position that until the principles are in place it was right for me to make those repayments.”
However, Sir Keir has also accepted a further £6,134 in “clothing and personal support” for Lady Starmer in June, from Lord Alli, according to the latest register of interests published on Wednesday.
That declaration is likely to come under scrutiny after it emerged earlier on Wednesday that the peer is facing a probe by the Lords’ commissioner over a potential breach of the members’ code of conduct.
The watchdog said it was looking at an “alleged non-registration of interests” by the former media executive.
The prime minister also took £920 from Tottenham Hotspur stadium for two tickets to the north London derby in September, and £1,000 from Arsenal FC for a game in August, according to the register. The game was also attended by his controversial chief of staff Sue Gray who also received it as a freebie.
Sir Keir has previously defended his decision to accept hospitality in order to attend football matches, citing security concerns which prevent him from watching from the stands without a large and expensive police presence.
The Conservatives accused the prime minister of only being transparent when “his back’s against the wall” and questioned why other senior members of Government such as his deputy Angela Rayner were not repaying gifts as well.
“This announcement today poses more questions than it answers,” a party spokesperson said.
Other declarations in the register published on Wednesday included £2,300 worth of hospitality from Tottenham Hotspur FC accepted by foreign secretary David Lammy to watch the north London derby in September.
Another £1,660 worth of tickets to a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley Stadium accepted from the Premier League by Liam Conlon, Labour MP and son of Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, in August.
And £836 declared by Angela Rayner for a spot in a DJ booth at nightclub Hi Ibiza, where the deputy prime minister was filmed partying over the summer.
