UK’s Keir Starmer mired in ‘frockgate’ row over gifts, wife’s clothes taken from donor

British prime minister says he’s done nothing wrong as he faces flak for taking freebies

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria at Number 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:27am, 20 Sep 2024Updated: 1:32pm, 20 Sep 2024

Less than three months after he was elected on a promise to restore trust in politics, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to shake off criticism over donations from a wealthy businessman and the hefty salary of his most senior aide.

The Labour Party leader, who won power in a landslide victory on July 4, denies impropriety over thousands of pounds worth of clothes and eyeglasses paid for by Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and long-time Labour donor.

Starmer is also facing grumbling among his own employees over the salary of chief of staff Sue Gray. The BBC disclosed that she is paid £170,000 (US$225,000) a year – about £3,000 more than the prime minister’s salary.

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

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer on board his plane as he flies to Washington. File photo: Reuters

“The pay bands for any official, any adviser, are not set by politicians. There’s an official process that does that,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Thursday.

In recent days British media have been full of largely anonymous grumbling from government officials about Gray, a former senior civil servant best known for leading an investigation into lockdown-breaching parties in government buildings during the Covid-19 pandemic.