The prime minister is facing controversy after it was revealed some of his wife’s clothes were bought by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.
So, is this allowed and have any parliamentary rules been broken?
FactCheck takes a look.
What did Lord Alli donate to the Starmers?
Labour donor and former chairman of online fashion retailer Asos, Lord Alli, covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Victoria Starmer – both before and after Labour’s election win on 4 July – according to The Sunday Times.
(The peer reportedly also gave the prime minister nearly £19,000 worth of work clothes, £20,000 of accommodation and provided a similar sum for “private office” costs – though these are not directly implicated in this row as they were all disclosed at the time, according to the paper.)
Have parliamentary rules been broken?
Like all MPs, the prime minister has to register all financial interests within 28 days of a new parliament beginning. This also includes donations to family members.
But according to The Sunday Times, the prime minister’s office reportedly approached parliamentary authorities just last week in order to make a late declaration.
The Conservative Party has called for “a full investigation” after “apparent serious breaches of parliamentary rules”.
Downing Street has accepted that Sir Keir did initially fail to declare the donations.
A spokeswoman for No 10 said: “We sought advice from the authorities on coming to office.
“We believed we had been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we have declared further items.”
And speaking to broadcasters yesterday, the prime minister said “it’s very important to me that the rules are followed,” before adding: “and that’s why, shortly after the election, my team reached out for advice on what declaration should be made so it’s in accordance with the rules”.
He went on to say: “They then sought out for further advice more recently, as a result of which they made the relevant declarations.”
What happens next?
If a member appears to have broken the rules, the parliamentary commissioner for standards can investigate.
If the commissioner upholds an allegation that an MP has breached the Code of Conduct, there are two possible outcomes.
The first is that the commissioner decides the breach “is at the less serious end of the spectrum” and requires the MP to acknowledge and apologise for their breach.
The second is that, in some circumstances, the commissioner will refer the matter to the Committee on Standards once they’ve finished their inquiry.
The committee then reaches their own conclusion on whether a breach has occurred, and if so, they may recommend a sanction is imposed on the MP, which can range from a public or written apology to expulsion from the House of Commons.
An investigation into the clothing row is not currently underway by the commissioner and Downing Street said on Monday that the watchdog will not be investigating.