THE LABOUR peer at the centre of a row over donations to Sir Keir Starmer is under investigation by the Lords’ standards watchdog over an alleged failure to register interests.
Lord Waheed Alli is facing a probe over potential breaches of parliamentary rules surrounding openness and accountability in the members’ code of conduct.
3
3
It comes after a backlash over tens of thousands of pounds worth of gifts accepted by the Prime Minister from the peer, a major party donor.
According to an update published on Parliament’s website on Wednesday, Lord Alli is being investigated by the Lords’ commissioner for “alleged non-registration of interests leading to potential breaches of paragraphs 14(a) and 17 of the thirteenth edition of the code of conduct”.
These rules relate to making clear what the interests are that might be reasonably thought to influence a member’s parliamentary actions and ensuring entries are up to date.
In late September, The Sun reported how Sir Keir was facing fresh controversy after it emerged he accepted another £16,000 of clothes from the multi-millionaire Lord Alli.
The new freebies were initially categorised as funds for his “private office”.
It is understood PM Sir Keir decided to recategorise the donations as personal clothing gifts after consulting with parliamentary authorities.
The original donations were declared on time.
The new tranche, made in October 2023 and February 2024, put the total of wardrobe gifts from Lord Alli at £32,000.
Sir Keir’s wife, Lady Victoria, his deputy Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves also enjoyed similar perks.
The PM and his front bench team said last month they will stop accepting clothing donations.
3
But the scandal deepened when Sir Keir, who has accepted free football and gig tickets, revealed he used Alli’s £18million London penthouse for his son to study.
He took advantage of the flat from May 28 to July 13, he declared, despite GCSEs ending in mid—June.
The estimated value of the perk — £20,437.28 — has also been questioned.
The freebies row and decision to axe winter fuel payments for pensioners has dented Sir Keir’s popularity.
A poll by think-tank More in Common put his approval rating at -27, a fall of 38 points since July.
Former PM Rishi Sunak was at -28 when he called the election in May.
Director Luke Tryl said: “After some tough headlines the Starmer slide in approval has continued.”