Labour donor no longer has pass for Number 10 – minister
A major Labour donor may only have had a pass for 10 Downing Street “temporarily”, a minister has said amid a row over alleged cronyism.
Lord Waheed Alli, who has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the party, was reported by the Sunday Times to have been given a pass granting him access to Number 10 despite having no official role in Government.
But speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said that, while Lord Alli may have had a pass “for a short time” immediately after the election, he no longer has one.
He said: “I don’t think it’s unusual for people to have passes to attend political meetings if they need to do so.
“I don’t think he’s got the pass now but he may have had one in the past.”
Television executive
Lord Alli, a television executive who was ennobled by Tony Blair in 1998, has donated more than £500,000 to the Labour Party and senior Labour figures over the past 20 years, including to Sir Keir Starmer, along with providing clothes and accommodation for the Prime Minister.
He also worked as the party’s chief fundraiser for the general election, having been hired by Sir Keir in 2022.
It is rare for donors to receive a pass for Number 10, with access usually being restricted to civil servants, advisers and close family members of the Prime Minister.
Reports about Lord Alli’s pass come amid a growing row over jobs in the Civil Service being given to Labour donors.
Ian Corfield, who has donated £20,000 to the party over the past decade, including £5,000 to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, was given a temporary job as the Treasury’s director of investment.
On Saturday, it emerged that Mr Corfield would now be working as an unpaid adviser rather than a salaried civil servant, and the Conservatives urged the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser to investigate his appointment.
Others with ties to Labour or Labour-supporting think tanks have also been appointed to Civil Service roles, prompting complaints from the opposition about the politicisation of the usually impartial bureaucracy.
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So, had a pass for a short while and no longer has a pass?
Meanwhile the Cons let anyone in.
Ah, Labour, grrrrr. Got it, usual suspect press are yanking the strings again.
Actually the reason this made the news is because it was so unusual
The Conservatives followed the rules in only giving passes to family and minsters as needed.
Tory and Labour – Same species just different spots.
A multimillionaire accepts money to buy himself glasses to make himself more electable.
No wonder Starmer had no problem with Gething’s acceptance of a donation to make him more electable.
I understand he also funded clothes and glasses to the tune of thousands of pounds for Starmer (echo’s of Boris). Why Starmer needs more money as he reportedly very wealthy is indicative of the world our politicians in power inhabit.- pity they don’t extend such largesse to pensioners on the worst Euopean Pension rates in Europe.