News from politics: “I don’t have the feeling that the government is not working,” says minister amid major leaks | Politics News

By Jake Levison, news reporter

Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over the past week for accepting gifts worth over £100,000.

But what exactly is the Prime Minister being criticized for, what are his party’s concerns and what has he said about it?

His wife’s clothes

Talks about the Prime Minister’s gifts began last weekend when The Sunday Times reported He had breached parliamentary rules by failing to disclose that some of his wife’s high-quality clothes had been bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.

Specifically, it was revealed that Lord Alli, former CEO of online fashion retailer Asos, paid for a personal shopper, clothing and alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer both before and after she took office as Prime Minister in July.

MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days of receiving them, but the donations for Lady Starmer’s clothes appear to have been submitted late.

Number 10 said it was an oversight that had been corrected.

Sir Keir has also received – and disclosed – other gifts from Lord Alli totalling £39,122, including an unspecified donation of accommodation valued at £20,437, “work clothes” valued at £16,200 and several pairs of glasses valued at £2,485.

Some Tory MPs condemned Sir Keir for accepting the gifts in the first place, particularly because he had cut heating allowances for pensioners in winter.

Football tickets

The Premier League is one of the biggest spenders on hospitality and Sir Keir – a well-known Arsenal fan – has received a total of almost £40,000 worth of tickets since December 2019.

He has declared gifts from the Premier League worth £12,588, numerous hospitality tickets for Arsenal matches worth well over £10,000, two tickets to the European Championship finals worth £1,628 and tickets from other Premier League clubs worth several thousand pounds.

Officials are warning the Prime Minister that continuing to buy tickets to football matches could expose him to inappropriate lobbying as the Government plans to set up an independent regulator for men’s professional football, Sky News has learned.

What did Starmer say in response to the criticism?

Speaking to reporters this week, the Prime Minister said that “all MPs get gifts” and that he thought the need to announce them was “a good framework”.

“Wherever there are gifts from anyone, I will follow the rules,” he said.

“For me it is very important that the rules are followed. I have always said that. I said that before the election. And after the election I reiterated it.”

On his acceptance of the Arsenal tickets, he added: “I’m a huge Arsenal fan. I can’t go into the stands for security reasons, so if I don’t accept a gift from a host, I can’t go to a game. You could say, ‘Well, tough luck.’

“That’s why gifts have to be registered. But… never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is going a bit too far.”

Another point of criticism by the opposition against the prime minister was his so-called “hypocrisy”, after they had previously been critical of his predecessors’ acceptance of gifts.

Although Sir Keir did not comment on the gifts during his election campaign, he regularly described former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his government as having lost touch with the financial problems of the population.