Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has paid back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality that he received after backlash from the public. These gifts included six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races, and a clothing rental agreement for his wife Lady Victoria Starmer. Other ministers have also been criticized for accepting freebies from wealthy donors.
The Prime Minister has said that he will be tightening the rules around ministerial hospitality to enhance transparency. According to a Downing Street spokesperson, the ministerial code will be updated and will include “a new set of principles on gifts and hospitality” as requested by Sir Keir. The Prime Minister, who was speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, said that his administration would establish new principles for donations since “until now politicians have used their best individual judgment to decide.”
The gifts that Sir Keir has paid for were listed in the most recent register of interests for MPs on Wednesday. The payment will be visible in the following register of members’ interests. A £839 clothing rental agreement with Edeline Lee, an hour of hair care, and makeup were covered by the Prime Minister. Sir Keir also accepted an additional £6,134 in “clothing and personal support” for Lady Starmer in June, from Labour donor Lord Alli.
The Conservative Party claimed that Sir Keir “will only be transparent when his back’s against the wall.” The party went on to say that the Prime Minister’s statement did not clarify why he accepted the donations in the first place and wondered why other senior party members had not repaid their gifts and hospitality. The gifts Starmer has paid for include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group worth £2,800, two from the Football Association at a cost of £598, and four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939.
The investigation into Lord Alli, made following the submission of a complaint last week, is being conducted by Parliament’s standards watchdog. Lord Alli has been at the center of a dispute over donations made to Sir Keir and other MPs. Sir Keir has previously stated that he would not accept donations of clothing as Prime Minister, and refused to comment on the investigation against Lord Alli
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