Sir Keir Starmer‘s wife Victoria today attended London Fashion Week as the couple faced a growing row over lavish donations from a Labour peer.
Lady Starmer was spotted in a polka dot Edeline Lee dress while her husband dodged questions over why they accepted free clothing worth thousands of pounds from Lord Waheed Alli.
In a scandal dubbed ‘wardrobegate’, the PM is alleged to have broken rules by failing to declare donations of clothing for his wife within a designated time limit.
The Tories have demanded a probe by Parliament’s watchdog into the Labour leader’s registration of gifts.
The row is embarrassing for Sir Keir, who was once dubbed ‘Mr Rules’, following his fierce criticism of Tory ‘sleaze’ under the last government.
It has also led to questions over why the PM, who had a stellar legal career before entering politics, seemingly could not pay for clothes despite earning £166,000 a year as premier.
Lady Starmer attended today’s Edeline Lee show at Millbank Tower during London Fashion Week.
She previously wore one of the designer’s dresses, worth £1,200, at Labour’s conference in October last year.
Sir Keir Starmer ‘s wife Victoria today attended London Fashion Week as the couple faced a growing row over lavish donations from a Labour peer
Lady Starmer was spotted in a polka dot Edeline Lee dress while her husband dodged questions over why they accepted free clothing worth thousands of pounds from Lord AlliÂ
She previously wore one of the designer’s dresses, worth £1,200, at Labour’s conference in October last year
Speaking to broadcasters on a visit to meet Italian PM Giorgia Meloni in Rome today, Sir Keir ignored a question on whether he should be paying for his own clothes
The PM is visiting the Italian capital for talks on tackling illegal migration with Ms Meloni
It emerged this weekend that Lord Alli paid for high-end clothes, a personal shopper and garment alterations for Lady Starmer.
But the gifts were not initially declared by Sir Keir in the register of MPs’ interests.
The Sunday Times reported the PM approached parliamentary officials last week to make a late declaration after being given updated advice on what needed to be registered.
It comes less than a month after Lord Alli, who bought suits and spectacles worth £18,865 for Sir Keir, faced questions over being granted a rare No10 security pass in a ‘passes for glasses’ row.
Speaking to broadcasters on a visit to Rome today, the PM dodged a question on whether he should be paying for his own clothes.
He said:Â ‘Let me shed a bit of light on this. It’s very important to me that the rules are followed.
‘I’ve always said that. I said that before the election, I’ve reinforced it after the election.
‘And that’s why, shortly after the election, my team reached out for advice on what declaration should be made so it’s in accordance with the rules.
‘They then sought out for further advice more recently, as a result of which they made the relevant declarations.
‘But for me it’s really important that the rules are followed.
‘That’s why I was very pleased my team reached out proactively, not once but twice, because it is very important that we have transparency, very important that you and others can see the rules are being followed.’
Speaking later at a press conference alongside Ms Meloni, Sir Keir declined to say if he would stop receiving gifts from Lord Alli but said ‘the rules really matter’.
‘It was because I insist on the rules that my team reached out to make sure we were declaring in the right way under the rules and then reached out again to the appropriate authorities – basically asking for advice about what’s the appropriate way to deal with this in accordance with the rules,’ he added.
Sir Keir was yesterday pictured celebrating Arsenal’s victory over Tottenham alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
And, on Saturday, Sir Keir enjoyed a day at Doncaster racecourse with Lady Starmer just hours after returning to the UK following talks in Washington DC with US President Joe Biden
It emerged this weekend that Lord Alli paid for high-end clothes, a personal shopper and garment alterations for Lady Starmer
Sir Keir is visiting Rome for talks on tackling illegal migration with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.
He was yesterday pictured celebrating Arsenal’s victory over Tottenham alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
And, on Saturday, Sir Keir enjoyed a day at Doncaster racecourse with Lady Starmer just hours after returning to the UK following talks in Washington DC with US President Joe Biden.
The PM enjoyed £76,000 worth of free tickets and clothes – including many Arsenal matches – during the last parliament, which was more than almost any other MP.
The Conservatives have written to, Daniel Greenberg, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to call for an investigation into Sir Keir’s failure to declare donations from Lord Alli.
It said: ‘In August it was then reported that Lord Alli had been given a temporary Downing Street security pass despite having no formal government role.
‘It was reported that he had played an active role in selecting Cabinet (and other) appointments.
‘It has now emerged that at the same time Sir Keir Starmer failed to declare a substantial gift of designer clothes, tailoring and a personal shopper bought for his wife by Lord Alli, both prior to the general election on July 4 2024 and following it.
‘There must be a full investigation into this scandal given this is not the first instance of the PM failing to declare donations and abiding by parliamentary rules.’
Sir Keir is facing the row over political donations at the same time as he is suffering a backlash at his and Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to strip millions of pensioners of their winter fuel payments.
Mr Lammy yesterday suggested Sir Keir and Lady Starmer accepted donations of clothing so they could ‘look their best’ to represent Britain.
The Foreign Secretary also pointed to how US presidents and first ladies have an expenses allowance ‘so that they look their best on behalf of the US people’.
Andrew Griffith, the Conservatives’ shadow science secretary, said: ‘It beggars belief that the PM thinks it’s acceptable that pensioners on £13,000 a year can afford to heat their home when he earns 12 times that but apparently can’t afford to clothe himself or his wife.
‘While his top team want a taxpayer-funded clothes budget to look sharp, people across the country are forced to make tough choices in the face of Labour’s damaging decisions.
‘Labour promised change but in ten short weeks all they’ve delivered is a change of clothes for themselves. Labour have made the political choice to put themselves and their Union paymasters before the most vulnerable.’