Keir Starmer’s decision to accept clothing freebies “looks greedy”, according to the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson criticised his Labour successor’s decision to accept gifts of clothing and glasses, saying Starmer “must be worth a bob or two” due to his legal career.
Johnson made the remarks as he defended his government’s decision to award contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) to inexperienced suppliers during the Covid pandemic, some of which had close links with ministers.
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, the former MP said: “I want you to know, I have no donors paying for my suits. Or spectacles. Who pays for your spectacles? You pay for your spectacles, don’t you? It’s unbelievable.
“I mean, the guy (Sir Keir), he’s a silk, right? I mean, he must be worth a bob or two. Why has he got some guy paying for his spectacles?”
Johnson, who is promoting his memoir, Unleashed, questioned why Starmer had accepted lavish gifts from the Labour peer and donor Lord Alli when he was “on a perfectly good salary from the government anyway”.
He added: “You know, that looks greedy, right? But if you then give the guy a pass to No 10, that looks corrupt. And so I just don’t get it. I don’t know why he’s still wearing those spectacles.
“Well, apart from the fact he can’t see. He can’t see what a mess he’s making of things.”
Johnson has received numerous donations towards his lifestyle. He received a donation worth £23,853 from the long-time Tory benefactor, the JCB boss Anthony Bamford, towards his wedding to Carrie Symonds in 2022. The donation covered the cost of hiring a marquee, Portaloos, waiting staff, flowers, a South African BBQ and an ice cream van.
Bamford’s wife, Carole, also donated luxury food from her business, Daylesford Organic, to the former prime minister.
He also notoriously received contributions from Lord Brownlow towards the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat – the Electoral Commission ultimately fined the Conservative party over the donation as it was not declared properly.
Elsewhere in the LBC interview, Johnson was asked if he would apologise for initiating wasteful and dubious Covid contracts related to PPE during the pandemic.
In recent months, the campaign group Transparency International UK has raised red flags about more than 130 such contracts, claiming some of them are at risk of corruption as they were awarded to inexperienced companies with close links to the Tories.
The BBC, meanwhile, has reported PPE worth an estimated £1.4bn, which was acquired by the government in a single deal during the pandemic, has been destroyed or written off.
Johnson told LBC he remembered “our absolute desperation” to get PPE into the UK.
He then apologised for the dubious nature of some contracts, telling LBC: “They did and I’m sorry about that but, you know, frankly, we needed that stuff as fast as possible. And I think most people really understand that. Our country was desperate for protective equipment.
“And, you know, I defend the government in trying to get it as fast as possible. And all sorts of crazy people were recommended to us for PPE, but we just had to act as fast as we could.”
