British leader Starmer faces criticism for taking free stuff, says he did nothing wrong

LONDON (AP) — Less than three months after he was elected promising to restore confidence in politics, Britons Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to shake off criticism over donations from a wealthy businessman and the high salary of his most important assistant.

The leader of the Labour Party who came to power in a landslide victory on July 4thdenies wrongdoing in connection with the purchase of thousands of pounds (dollars) worth of clothes and glasses by Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and long-time Labour Party donor.

Starmer has also faced complaints from staff about the pay of his chief of staff, Sue Gray. The BBC revealed she earns 170,000 pounds ($225,000) a year — about 3,000 pounds more than the prime minister’s salary.

Gray’s salary is at the top of a set of pay bands for political advisers that have been raised since the election. The government has said it did not interfere in setting the pay scale.

“The pay bands for every civil servant, every adviser, are not set by politicians. There is a formal process for doing that,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Thursday.

In recent days, the British media has been full of largely anonymous complaints from government officials about Gray, a former senior civil servant best known for his investigation into lockdown breaking events in government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gray’s findings helped bring down Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and her subsequent decision to work with Starmer prompted Conservatives to claim the “partygate” inquiry was politically motivated, something Gray denies.

Labour says the leak of Gray’s salary and donations – dubbed “frockgate” in the press after the dresses were bought for the prime minister’s wife, Victoria Starmer – are being fuelled by the Conservatives and their media supporters to smear the government.

Lawmakers can accept gifts but must declare donations and non-parliamentary income within 28 days. Starmer missed a four-week deadline to declare donations of clothes and a personal shopper for his wife from Alli. He said the delay was because his staff were seeking advice on exactly what to declare.

“I am very consistent in sticking to the rules,” Starmer said this week. He dismissed suggestions that prime ministers should be given a wardrobe budget, saying taxpayers should not be paying for politicians’ clothes.

The scale of the freebies Starmer has accepted has raised eyebrows even among supporters, with Sky News reporting that Starmer has declared more than £100,000 worth of “gifts, benefits and hospitality” since December 2019, more than any other lawmaker.

The donations include thousands of pounds worth of tickets to Premier League matches involving Starmer’s beloved team Arsenal.

“I’m a huge Arsenal fan,” Starmer told reporters on a trip to Rome this week. “I can’t go into the stands for security reasons. So if I can’t accept the gift of hospitality, I can’t go to the game. You could say, ‘Well, tough luck.’ … But you know, never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept the hospitality is a bit too much.”