Try GOLD - Free

Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing

The Guardian

|

September 28, 2024

Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.

- Rowena Mason Peter Walker

Revealed Alli gave PM a further £16,000 gift of clothing

The donations, comprising £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024, bring the total amount in gifted clothes to £32,000.

These latest gifts were not previously known about as they were described as "for the private office of the leader of the opposition".

The revelation is set to reignite a row over the extent of donations accepted by Starmer and some of his frontbench team while in opposition, much of it from Alli. It is understood that the prime minister has since sought advice from the registrar of MP's interests over the two donations, and they will be recategorised as donations in kind of clothing. The original donations were declared on time.

Starmer has been under pressure for weeks over support given by Lord Alli, a media businessman, which also included more than £2,400 for glasses and the temporary use of a £18m penthouse during the election campaign.

He has also been criticised for accepting tens of thousands of pounds of football and concert ticket freebies while serving as leader of the opposition.

MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian

The Guardian

Garnacho saves sorry Chelsea from shock defeat by Qarabag

Chelsea’s precision is nowhere to be seen when Enzo Maresca rings the changes.

time to read

3 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Lights, camera, tax break The producer churning out flops funded by Treasury

Only the geekiest film buffs will have heard of Alan Latham, but he is one of the UK's most prolific movie producers.

time to read

4 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

Academics tell of 'heavy pressure' from China

UK academics whose research is critical of China say they have been targeted and their universities subjected to “extremely heavy” pressure from Beijing, prompting calls for a fresh look at the sector’s dependence on tuition fee income from Chinese students.

time to read

3 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

Lammy's luck is facing an opponent who can't count and has lost track of his gotcha moment

He had one job.

time to read

2 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

"The money you get in football means the parasites come'

The former West Ham, Chelsea and England footballer, a gifted maverick who always felt a man out of time, playing a game years ahead of most of his contemporaries, smiles when I ask how old he feels now: \"Forty-four. I'm 44 [this Saturday].

time to read

6 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

'A true champion' Hope overflows in New York as the outsider candidate claims victory

Zohran Mamdani's election downtown night party in Brooklyn on Tuesday night saw hundreds of his supporters erupt in applause as the democratic socialist from Queens was elected the next mayor of New York City.

time to read

4 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

Confusion at the gates Why system can't keep track of inmates

The mistaken release of a second foreign prisoner has forced ministers to once again revaluate their security and release procedures, and will once again shine a spotlight on the well-documented problems at HMP Wandsworth.

time to read

2 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

Lammy under pressure after two more prisoners mistakenly freed

David Lammy is under mounting pressure after two more prisoners, including a convicted foreign sex offender, were mistakenly freed days after the justice secretary introduced stringent checks for jails.

time to read

4 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

High-speed rail network could cover Europe by 2040, says EU

Breakfast in Berlin, lunch in Copenhagen, with a fast and easy train journey to pass the morning?

time to read

2 mins

November 06, 2025

The Guardian

The Guardian

Tale of two city mayors Mamdani joins Khan on divided world stage

While the soon-to-be first Muslim mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, was in the final throes of his mayoral campaign on a brisk day in New York, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, was wrapping up a two-day climate summit in a steamy if overcast Rio de Janeiro.

time to read

4 mins

November 06, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size