Sir Keir Starmer's wife getting clothes from donor 'not a transparency issue', Lammy insists

The foreign secretary insists the prime minister is “seeking to comply with the rules” and an investigation into a Labour donor buying clothes for his wife is “not a transparency issue”.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing an investigation over a possible breach of parliamentary rules after failing to declare that some of his wife’s high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.

The Labour peer paid for a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer, reportedly both before and after the Labour leader became prime minister in July, according to The Sunday Times.

David Lammy defended Sir Keir when he appeared on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

Asked whether it was a bad look for the prime minister after promising to clean up politics, Mr Lammy said: “This is not a transparency issue. It’s actually the prime minister seeking to comply with the rules.”

Questioned further on whether Sir Keir and his wife needed to have clothes donated to them when the prime minister’s annual salary is around £160,000, Mr Lammy noted there is “no budget” for clothing for our prime minister, while in other countries, such as the US, there is a “substantial budget” so that when appearing on the world stage, they represent their countries well.

He added: “So it is the case that successive leaders of the opposition wanting to represent the country on an international stage, and prime ministers have used donors to fund that budget.”

The foreign secretary also defended the Labour donor, Lord Alli, who had funded the gifts for Sir Keir and Lady Starmer.

Mr Lammy described him as a self-made millionaire who has been a supporter and a donor to the Labour Party over successive leaders and prime ministers.

This year, Sir Keir has received – and disclosed – nearly £19,000 worth of work clothes and several pairs of glasses from Lord Alli, the former chairman of online fashion retailer Asos, The Times reported.

In addition, the peer, whose personal wealth is estimated at £200m, spent £20,000 on accommodation for the now prime minister during the election and a similar sum on “private office” costs, which was also disclosed, the paper said.

A Number 10 spokesperson told Sky News it was an oversight that had been corrected after it “sought advice from the authorities on coming to office”.

They added: “We believed we’d been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we’ve declared further items.”

This story will sting after win based on promises of service and professionalism

The last two prime ministers who walked into 10 Downing Street promised to bring a level of professionalism into politics.

In his first speech, Rishi Sunak said he wanted his government to have “integrity, professionalism and accountability” at every level. Two years later, Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to restore trust to politics and that “to change Britain, we must change ourselves – we need to clean up politics”.

In fact, Labour’s argument throughout the election was basically that they weren’t the Conservatives. That they would bring public service back into politics – even labelling their government the “government of service”.

Which is why this story must sting so much.

It’s a small indiscretion, not nearly the realms of the chaos of the last administration, and it seems to be more cock up than deliberate, but it does show the perils of setting the standards so high for a government that wants to stand as the contrast to what came before.

It also has the risk of being damaging.

As trust in politicians has stooped to its lowest levels and people feel the levels of service in public life are waning, if a politician promises to be all above board in all respects then the public will expect them to be squeaky clean.

After facing interviews on Sunday morning – in which he said Vladimir Putin could not successfully bully the West over its support for Ukraine – Mr Lammy and Sir Keir watched the north London derby football match between Tottenham and Arsenal together.

The foreign secretary posted on X saying: “The boss’ team won this time against the run of play, but it’s still early in the season.”

The Tories called for a “full investigation” after The Sunday Times report.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “It’s taken just 10 weeks for Keir Starmer to face an investigation for his conduct.

“After facing allegations of cronyism and now apparent serious breaches of parliamentary rules there must be a full investigation into the passes for glasses scandal.

“No doubt the millions of vulnerable pensioners across the country who face choosing between heating and eating would jump at the chance for free clothes just to keep warm in the face of Labour’s cruel cut.”

Lord Alli’s involvement with the Labour leader has already proved controversial after it emerged he had been given a Downing Street security pass without apparently having a government role.

Sir Keir, like all MPs, must declare any of his relevant interests under rules set up to protect politics from improper influence and uphold transparency.