Sir Keir Starmer has said senior ministers do not need to hand back freebies and gifts like he has – as Diane Abbott said donors do not donate to politicians “out of altruism”.
After weeks of criticism over Sir Keir and his top team taking freebies since coming into office, on Wednesday the prime minister gave back £6,000 worth of gifts.
Included were the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.
But on Friday, he said he does not expect his cabinet ministers to do the same.
“We’re going to draw up some principles so everyone can see the basis on which donations etc can be accepted,” he said.
“Until they’re drawn up I decided to repay so that any future activities of me or anybody else are in accordance with whatever the new principles are.
“That’s my personal decision, I’m not saying others should do the same, but that’s why I did what I did.”
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‘Donations not given out of altruism’
Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott said Sir Keir’s decision to hand back the money is “an admission he was doing a wrong thing”.
One of the few remaining Jeremy Corbyn loyalists in parliament, Ms Abbott admitted she does not have much of a relationship with Sir Keir.
She accused him of not understanding “how taking freebies looks to ordinary people”.
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Ms Abbott told Sky News: “He just spent weeks and weeks claiming everything was in the rules, now he’s had to give some of it at least back.
“Well, that’s an admission he was doing a wrong thing.”
She said despite previously defending taking freebies, Sir Keir will “see from polling, the public takes a very dim view of this”.
Sir Keir, who was a barrister, is a “very wealthy man”, she said, and although taking the freebies is not “corruption”, she said rich donors do not just give gifts “out of altruism”.
“At some point, they think that politician is going to listen to them,” she said.
Donations are part of politics, Ms Abbott admitted, but not on this scale.