Labour lord at centre of freebies row under investigation over ‘non-registration of interests’
The Labour peer at the centre of a row over donations to Sir Keir Starmer is under investigation for an alleged failure to register interests.
The Lords’ standards watchdog will carry out the probe into Lord Waheed Alli amid potential breaches of parliamentary rules surrounding openness and accountability in the members’ code of conduct.
It comes after the Prime Minister accepted thousands of pounds of gifts from the major party donor.
An update published on Parliament’s website stated that Lord Alli is being investigated by the Lords’ commissioner for “alleged non-registration of interests leading to potential breaches of paragraphs 14(a) and 17 of the thirteenth edition of the code of conduct”.
The donations reportedly covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes, glasses and alterations for Lady Starmer, both before and after Labour’s election victory in July.
He is also said to have given money to education secretary Bridget Phillipson to fund a reception to mark her 40th birthday.
Other donations from media tycoon include £20,000 declared by the Prime Minister for accommodation during the election campaign.
The Labour peer has donated more than £700,000 to the party in total, including £100,000 for Sir Keir’s 2020 leadership campaign.
Starmer said it was to allow his son to study for his GCSEs in peace at the former TV executive’s central London flat while the family home was surrounded by media.
The Labour leader has since committed to overhauling hospitality rules for ministers to ensure better transparency about what is provided.
There is no suggestion that the Prime Minister or members of his Cabinet broke any rules in accepting the freebies.
More to follow…
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