Labour peer at centre of Starmer freebies row under Lords investigation

ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana discusses the investigation into Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli for "alleged non-registration of interests"

A Labour peer at the centre of a row over donations to Sir Keir Starmer is under investigation by the Lords' commissioner.

Lord Waheed Alli is being investigated by the Lords' standards watchdog for “alleged non-registration of interests”.

The prime minister and members of his Cabinet have been facing backlash for accepting tens of thousands of pounds worth of gifts - many from Lord Alli, who is a major Labour Party donor.

MPs and Members of the Lords are obligated to declare certain interests under Parliamentary rules, and ensuring they are up to date.

"Interests" refer to benefits - financial or non-financial - received by MPs or Members of the Lords which might be reasonably thought to influence their actions.

Anyone who fails to do so could be in breach of the members’ code of conduct.

A Labour spokesperson told ITV News: “Lord Alli will cooperate fully with the Lords’ Commissioner and he is confident all interests have been registered.

"We cannot comment further while this is ongoing."

According to the 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”.

Lord Alli, who has donated to the Labour Party for more than two decades, has been thrown into the spotlight in recent weeks due to scrutiny of his donations of clothes, holidays, accommodation and work events.

These included £20,000 declared by Sir Keir for accommodation during the election campaign, which the PM said was to allow his son to study for his GCSEs in peace at the former TV executive’s central London flat while the family home was surrounded by media.

The prime minister also accepted donations for glasses and clothing for both himself and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer.

Sir Keir is understood to have accepted around £39,000 from Lord Alli since December 2019.

The PM has said Lord Alli was motivated to help financially because he wanted Labour to win the election.

He also came under fire for separately accepting free corporate box tickets, worth thousands of pounds, at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

Downing Street confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the prime minister has now paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality he has received since entering Number 10. None of these gifts were from Lord Alli.

The prime minister and other Cabinet ministers maintain they did not breach any rules by accepting the gifts but Sir Keir has now committed to overhauling hospitality rules for ministers to ensure better transparency about what is provided.

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