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Sir Keir Starmer has received a further £16,000 worth of clothes which he incorrectly registered as donations — on top of clothing gifts already reported — in revelations that are likely to raise further questions about the prime minister’s commitment to transparency.
The Financial Times reported in July that Starmer had received £76,000 worth of gifts, including £16,200 of “work clothing” and £2,485 worth of glasses from Alli, a Labour member of the House of Lords and former chair of online clothing retailer Asos.
However, he also received £10,000 worth of clothes from Alli in October last year, followed by a further £6,000 worth in February this year, both of which were reported as “donations” for “the private office of the Leader of the opposition”.
The revelations, first reported by the Guardian, are likely to add ballast to critics’ claims that the prime minister sought to conceal the nature of donations and gifts received by Alli given that he was aware of the rules about how clothing donations should be reported.
The FT reported last week that in April Starmer first recorded a donation from Alli worth £16,200 in the register of MPs’ financial interests under the category of “any other support”, and described it as “private support for the office of the leader of the opposition, value £16,200”.
The following month, he altered his entry in the register, placing Alli’s donation under the category of “gifts, benefits and hospitality” and disclosed for the first time that it was “work clothing, value £16,200”.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said last week that Starmer was advised to change the record after more information was requested about the nature of the support he had received, suggesting he was aware of the rules around registering gifts.
He did not at that time change the two entries of £10,000 and £6,000 from Alli in October and February.
The scandal around freebies received by the prime minister and senior cabinet ministers while they were in opposition has cast a shadow over the party at a time when many would expect the leadership to be celebrating its landslide election win.
Starmer and cabinet ministers Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner have said they will no longer accept clothing while in office.
Critics have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest following reports that Alli helped advise Sue Gray, Starmer’s chief of staff, on potential government appointments before the general election.
Later he was given a temporary Downing Street pass, despite holding no formal government role.
The MPs’ code of conduct states members “should not” record in the register “donations or gifts which are intended to provide personal benefit” under the category of “any other support”.
It also states “gifts such as clothing or jewellery” should be recorded as gifts, with information provided on their nature and value.
A person close to Starmer said the donations from October and February were declared on time and “in good faith”, and that the gifts were reclassified in the register after his team sought “further advice” on how the gifts should be categorised.
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