Starmer’s Frockgate saga rumbles on

Back to Westminster, where the Prime Minister is facing some rather uncomfortable questions about freebies received from top Labour donor Lord Alli. Last month, it emerged that Alli received a No. 10 pass after funding the PM’s wardrobe – before the Sunday Times revealed at the weekend that Lady Starmer had also been a beneficiary of Alli’s donations, but had not declared these in line with parliamentary directives. Rules for thee, but not for me…

The Tories were quick to call for a ‘robust’ standards probe into the matter (which Downing Street announced yesterday would not be going ahead) but the ‘Frockgate’ saga continues to rumble on – in no small part thanks to numerous gaffes on the issue made by the PM’s own ministers. David Lammy was the first to bat for Starmer, suggesting to Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday morning that donors have funded clothing picks in the past, noting ‘there isn’t a budget for the Prime Minister’s clothes or his wife’s clothes’.