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PM suggests £20,000 donation was for ‘son to study for GCSEs’

25 Sep 2024 3 minute read
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Photo Henry Nicholls/PA Wire

Keir Starmer has suggested he accepted £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his GCSEs while his family home was besieged by journalists during the election campaign.

The Prime Minister defended his decision to take gifts from Labour peer Lord Alli amid criticism of the arrangement, saying he was “not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong” and the freebies did not “cost the taxpayer a penny”.

But Sir Keir signalled he could continue to accept hospitality from donors, saying that it was a matter of “judgment” for individual MPs whether they receive certain kinds of donations.

In a series of broadcast interviews following his speech to the Labour Party annual conference, he also said the transition to Downing Street had been “really difficult” for his two children, who were previously raised in North London.

Asked about the donations, Sir Keir said that around £20,000 he had declared from Lord Alli for unspecified accommodation was for his teenager to study for exams in a “peaceful” atmosphere while the then-Labour leader was overwhelmed with media attention in the run-up to the election.

“My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I’m not complaining about that, that’s fine.

“But if you’re a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it’s your one chance in life – I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.

“Somebody then offered me accommodation where we could do that. I took that up and it was the right thing to do.”

Criticism

Asked whether he would like to apologise for the row, he told LBC: “I’m not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong.”

The Prime Minister also opened up about life inside Number 10 following Labour’s takeover in July.

“It has been tough for the kids. I’m not pleading a special case but they’re 16 and 13,” he said. “That’s a very important time.”

The row over declarations by MPs and senior ministers had threatened to overshadow the Labour conference, with criticism aimed at both the PM and his ministers for accepting luxury gifts from wealthy donors while announcing cuts to the winter fuel allowance.

Sir Keir has said ministers will no longer take donations for clothing now they are in Government, but left the door open to receiving more access to events, such as the £4,000 worth of tickets to a Taylor Swift concert he accepted from the Premier League.

Asked whether he would rule out accepting such gifts in the future, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think that’s a matter of judgment. There has to be good reason.”


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Mawkernewek
Mawkernewek
8 days ago

Not only his wife getting in on the grift with her new clothes but now his son as well despite neither being elected officials.

A.Redman
A.Redman
8 days ago

The abject hypocrisy of it all is breathtaking beyond belief!!!How many more of these donations will be coming to light.

Jeff
Jeff
7 days ago
Reply to  A.Redman

Snigger.
Its in the open. It is not the secret the wail or whoever are trying to make it out to be.

Fell yer boots. Other MP’s are available.
https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/registers-of-interests/register-of-members-financial-interests/
Pity the press are only now cottoning on to this. When Labour are in power. Funny that.

CapM
CapM
7 days ago
Reply to  Jeff

Wouldn’t it be better if you took the initiative and attempted to pull the spade off Starmer rather than persist in a whataboutery distraction while your leader keeps digging a deeper hole for you both.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
7 days ago

Starman is Homo Superior for Five Years and we Under Pressure were waiting for Heroes to come along…there’s more chance of finding Life on Mars…

Brian
Brian
7 days ago

Surely, anyone who receives lavish gifts I.e. more than £100 is placing themselves in debt to the donor. This practice must be stopped it’s unethical and keads to biased decisions. MP’S are paid enough, receive generous expenses and often have second jobs! Enough is enough!

CapM
CapM
7 days ago

Given the date the election was called and the dates over which GCSEs are held the cast of accommodation for his son works out at £5000 a week.

Haven’t the Starmers got any friends that could have put their son up for a modest fee that even the Starmers could have afforded.

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