Keir Starmer faces fresh questions over £55,000 worth of ‘hospitality’ donations from Lord Alli to Labour – as Wes Streeting becomes THIRD cabinet minister to have used property owned by millionaire donor _ hieuuk
Sir Keir Starmer was urged to ‘come clean’ over how many times he used a Labour peer’s £18 million penthouse as he tried to brush off the freebies saga with a crass joke.
The Prime Minister had to defend himself after it emerged he used a luxury apartment belonging to major donor Waheed Alli to record a clip telling Britain to work from home during the pandemic.
And further questions were being asked last night after the Mail uncovered £55,000-worth of opaquely-listed ’hospitality’ donated by the multi-millionaire peer – who was controversially given a rare Number 10 pass this year – to the party in just 12 months.
On a visit to New York, Sir Keir tried to laugh off the growing row as he looked to woo Wall Street investors in the lavish Midtown residence of the UK’s Consul General, Hannah Young.
He told the business chiefs: ‘I’d like to pretend this is my apartment to welcome you to, but I can’t, because Hannah has already nabbed it.’
The Prime Minister was urged to come clean over how many times he used Lord Alli’s £18million home as he tried to laugh off the ongoing saga on a visit to New York
The PM came under fire for using Lord Waheed Alli (pictured)’s Covent Garden flat, into which he moved for the duration of the election to allow his teenage son to study for his GCSEs ‘in peace’
Located in Convent Garden the luxury pad (Pictured: The exterior) has been a longtime hangout for Labour grandes
Keir Starmer is facing questions today over why he failed to declare repeatedly using a donor’s £18million penthouse for his political purposes
The PM has come under fire for his use of Lord Alli’s three-bed, double terraced Covent Garden flat, which he and his family moved into for the duration of the election and beyond.
After he insisted the move was to allow his teenage son to study for his GCSEs ‘in peace’, it later emerged Sir Keir had also used the central London penthouse of his own biggest personal donor on previous occasions to record official videos.
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‘I’d like to pretend this is my apartment’: Keir Starmer jokes with US business leaders amid row over his undeclared use of Labour donor’s £18m London penthouse to address the nation on TV
One, from December 2021, saw him sat behind a desk, urging people to follow work-from-home guidance as the Omicron variant of Covid hit. A picture of his family and Christmas cards on shelves behind him created the impression it was filmed at his North London townhouse and led to accusations he tried to ‘hoodwink’ the public.
Downing Street briefed one newspaper that it was a ‘one-off’, a claim debunked less than an hour later after it emerged Sir Keir also used the flat to film his sombre tribute to the late Queen.
In New York last night, the PM hit back at the criticism, saying: ‘Anybody who thinks I was pretending it was my own home, the idea that I’ve got Union Jacks by my fireplace . . . is pretty farcical.
‘I’m not going to be inviting you in to film me in front of my fireplace. I’m very sorry, that’s about the last thing I’d do.’
Sir Keir has been very protective of his two children, a son aged 16 and a daughter, 13, refusing to allow them to be pictured or even named. During Covid, when politicians regularly took to TV screens on Zoom from home, he did clips from the street or an office instead, so as not to let cameras inside.
But he is facing fresh questions about how many other times he might have used Lord Alli’s flat without declaring it in parliamentary records.
Sir Keir Starmer attending a breakfast meeting with business leaders at the consul general’s residence in New York this morning
Sir Keir with Sir Jim Ratcliffe at a match at Old Trafford. Sir Keir has also come under pressure for accepting Premier League tickets
Some 23 donations for ‘hospitality’ from the peer – worth a total of £55,000 – have been recorded by the Electoral Commission as they were made centrally to Labour rather than to individual MPs, whose gifts are listed separately.
Sources at the watchdog said the fact that the donations were registered as ‘non-cash’ suggested they could relate to the use of Lord Alli’s penthouse or other property he owns.
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Keir Starmer did not declare using donor’s £18m London penthouse to address the nation on TV because he was ‘only there for a couple of hours’
They could also be for food and drink at meetings or bashes, with the former TV mogul and fashion boss known to have hosted several gatherings at the luxury property in recent years.
Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick, said: ‘Starmer needs to come clean to the country: how many times did he use Lord Alli’s flat and why hasn’t he declared the use of it in his personal [MP] register?’
In New York, the PM said he accepted the ‘public would have questions’ as he was asked if the saga was damaging public trust, replying: ‘I think the best thing we can do is be absolutely clear that nothing wrong has been done here.’
However, he was also accused of undervaluing the true cost of his family’s seven-week stay in the flat.
The gift was registered in the MPs’ register of interests rather than by the Electoral Commission as it was given directly to Sir Keir.
The entry states that he accepted £20,437.28-worth of stays from Lord Alli between May 29 and July 13, putting the cost at around £450 a night.
But a similar but much smaller property a ten-minute walk from Covent Garden was last night listed online for £1,000 a night.
Location, Location, Location presenter Kirstie Allsopp tweeted: ‘If Keir Starmer can get a short-let flat in Covent Garden, worth £18,000,000, for £3,300 per week he should definitely be PM. The man is a bargain-hunter extraordinaire, maybe he can apply his negotiating skills on the train drivers.’
It comes as the Telegraph reported that the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, used Lord Alli’s London home for a fundraising event, the value of which was declared as £4,600 on the register of interests.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting also used Lord Alli’s London home for a £4,700 fundraiser in March 2022
Guests of the event in March 2022, which included drinks and catering paid for by Lord Alli, included actor Sir Ian McKellen, former East Enders star Lord Cashman and LGBT activist Linda Riley.
The fundraiser for 20 to 30 guests was co-hosted by fellow Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and raised £20,000.
A spokesman for Ms Leadbeater said: ‘It was all declared at the time and it was perfectly legitimate.
Wes Streeting’s spokesperson said: ‘This was declared years ago. Wes is proud of the support that Waheed Alli has given the Labour Party. He has given so much, never asked anything in return, and was instrumental to Labour’s victory, which is why the Tories are gunning for him.’
