Keir Starmer is facing further backlash after he used a Labour donor’s flat to record an address calling for the public to work from home at the height of the pandemic.
The prime minister used Lord Alli’s £18m penthouse to speak to the nation back in December 2021, when he was leader of the opposition and government regulations aiming to curb Covid were still in place.
No.10 has insisted no rules were broken in the recording of that broadcast.
The address aired on BBC One on December 13, 2021, the same day the whole of England was to be moved under Plan B rules to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. Anyone who could was encouraged to work from home.
During the speech, Starmer could be seen sitting behind a desk with a photo of his family on the bookshelf behind him.
According to the website Guido Fawkes – which identified the footage – the then-leader of the opposition told the UK: “It will be easy to let the festivities we’ve all been looking forward to divert us from our national duty.
“Getting jabbed, wearing masks, and working from home if we can really will help prevent infections and help prevent the NHS being overwhelmed.”
Starmer also used Alli’s property to record a similar broadcast on September 8, 2022, following the late Queen’s death.
The Labour leader did not declare either of these uses of the flats in the MPs register of interests, because it fell below the threshold of £300.
However, Starmer is facing significant backlash already for all of the freebies he has registered since 2019, which work out to more than £100,000.
He has declared a £20,437.28 donation from Lord Alli for when he moved into the 5,000 sq ft flat in Covent Garden during the election campaign.
The prime minister claims he needed to stay there to protect his son from the media – and protesters – outside their family home while he revised for his GCSEs.
Yet Starmer stayed at the property – which can be rented for nearly £450 a day – until at least a month after the GCSE exam season ended.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, the PM said: “There were no breaches of the rules or anything like that. We complied with everything. I’m not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong.”
In response to reports about Starmer’s use of Alli’s flat during the pandemic, a Conservative spokesperson said: “At the start of this year, Starmer promised to restore standards in public life with a ‘total crackdown’ on cronyism.
“In that spirit, he should now explain why he didn’t declare the use of Lord Alli’s penthouse for political purposes, and why he was not honest about passing off someone else’s house as his own.”
Kevin Hollinrake MP, shadow business and trade secretary, said: “This is about Keir Starmer, and his top team, thinking the rules don’t apply to them.
“They have become utterly addicted to luxury clothing, holidays and services provided by their mega donor whilst expecting everyone else to tighten their belt. Why does he always think he’s a special case?
“Labour promised to be a government of service but all they’ve offered is a government of self-service.”