UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under fire after he allegedly broke a parliamentary rule, in which he failed to declare gifts of clothing for his wife from multimillionaire Labor Party donor Waheed Alli. The former investment banker and donor purportedly paid for a personal shopper for Victoria Starmer, 50, the former solicitor and wife of the UK’s new PM.
According to reports, the prime minister did not declare his wife’s gifts in the register of the MP’s interests. The 62-year-old sought out parliamentary authorities on Tuesday and made a late declaration after he was given “updated advice” on what he needed to register, The Sunday Times reported.
“We sought advice from the authorities on coming to office. We believed we had been compliant, however following further interrogation this month, we have declared further items,” Downing Street said.
According to the report, Starmer, 62, now faces an investigation after he neglected to disclose the gifts his wife had received. Alli is the former chairman of Asos, an online fast-fashion retailer, and his wealth is estimated to stand at £200 million, the report details.
Alli previously caused controversy when he somehow managed to acquire a No 10 security pass, shortly after Starmer was elected, and used it to host about 50 donors and other guests at a party there. The entrepreneur, who co-created the television series Survivor, has given nearly £1 million to the Labor party over the past two decades. The party's headquarters were also involved in helping organize the delivery of Mrs. Starmer’s luxurious gifts.
The fashion mogul reportedly gifted the Labor leader nearly £19,000 worth of work clothes and glasses, and spent £20,000 on accommodation for the new prime minister while he was running for office, as well as roughly the same amount on “private office” costs. All of these gifts were disclosed by Starmer, apart from the gifts his wife received.
Mrs. Starmer has since rejected free products that were offered to her including clothes, jewelry and make-up, the report said. Meanwhile, Starmer’s completed register of interests is scheduled to be published some time next month.
Starmer’s misstep is a poor reflection of the principles he ran on, including his promise to clean up UK politics by cutting out cronyism; the prime minister made consistent attacks against former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his reliance on donors.
In 2021, Sputnik reported that Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK and Secretary of State for Housing, received four times as many donations as her Conservative MPs whom she had accused of political sleaze. At the time, when she was Labor deputy leader, one of her donors was reported to be Alli, amongst other big ticket donors.