Millionaire freebies peer gave Deputy PM Angela Rayner £3,550 worth of work clothes
Angela Rayner received £3,550 worth of work clothes from the millionaire Labour donor at the centre of the partys freebies row, it emerged last night.
Angela Rayner received £3,550 worth of work clothes from the millionaire Labour donor at the centre of the partys freebies row, it emerged last night.
The Deputy Prime Minister had previously declared the gift from Lord Alli as a donation in kind for undertaking parliamentary duties.
But she has now finally disclosed that the purpose was for work-related clothing used while undertaking my duties on the Parliamentary Register of Interests.
Lord Allis gifts to senior Labour figures have come under the spotlight in recent weeks, overshadowing the partys annual conference in September.
The Prime Minister received clothing donations worth £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024, taking his total clothing gift value to £32,000.
Deputy PM Angela Rayner received over £3,000 worth of work clothes from Lord Alli, it has been revealed
The Deputy Prime Minister had previously declared the gift from Lord Alli as a donation in kind for undertaking parliamentary duties
Sir Keir Starmer also received £2,400 from Lord Alli for glasses, and the use of an £18 million London penthouse during the election campaign - valued at £20,437 for a near seven-week stay.
In the wake of the controversy, the Prime Minister, Ms Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to no longer accept donations of clothing.
Sir Keir has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since the election in light of the row, while the peers Downing Street pass - obtained shortly after Labour entered government - has been handed back.
But Lord Allis generosity expanded beyond ministers wardrobes.
He gave Ms Rayner the use of his luxury flat in New York last winter along with her partner Sam Tarry, who was a Labour MP at the time.
Sir Keirs deputy said she did not believe she had broken any rules by not declaring Mr Tarry stayed in the flat, and added that Lord Alli would not receive anything in return for his donations.
She added: I get that people are frustrated, in particular the circumstances that were in, but donations for gifts and hospitality and monetary donations have been a feature of our politics for a very long time.
People can look it up and see what people have had donations for, and the transparency is really important.
The Deputy PM was also granted free use of Lord Allis luxury New York flat in recent times
In the wake of the freebies controversy, the Deputy PM has sworn to not accept donations of clothing in future
He has also donated a total of £17,650 since last year to support [Rayner] in her capacity as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, according to the Register.
Lord Alli, a former chairman of clothing retail giant Asos, was also revealed to have funded a 40th birthday bash for Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson last year.
Last month the peer was referred to the Lords standards commissioner over a potential breach of the code of conduct. They recommended he apologise for failing to properly register his interests in a series of businesses and a charitable foundation.
Ms Rayner is understood to have initially declared the donation within the appropriate time limit before seeking further advice from officials on whether she should disclose further information.
Only now has the Register been updated to reflect this.
