David Lammy has complained about the fact that UK taxpayers do not pay for Keir Starmer and his wife to “look their best”.
The prime minister reportedly breached parliamentary rules by failing to initially declare that multi-millionaire Labour donor Lord Alli had bought clothes for Victoria Starmer.
It has previously been revealed that the wealthy peer gave the prime minister more than £18,000 to spend on suits and glasses.
On Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC1 this morning, Lammy pointed out that in other countries, political leaders and their partners are given a publicly-funded budget for clothing.
The foreign secretary said: “The prime minister did declare funds that he received from Lord Alli. He’s then gone back to the parliamentary commissioner to further check details on some of those funds that have made their way to his wife.
“So he has done that and he is seeking to comply with the rules. So this is not an issue of transparency, he is attempting to be transparent.
“I’ve just come back from the United States, where US presidents and First Ladies have a huge budget, paid for by the taxpayer, so that they look their best on behalf of the US people. We don’t have that system over here.
“The truth is that successive prime ministers, unless you’re a billionaire like the last one, do rely on political donations so they can look their best, both in the hope of representing the country during opposition, or indeed as prime minister. That is the situation.”
Kuenssberg said: “With respect, the Starmers aren’t exactly broke. He had big senior jobs, he was paid very well. He’s paid very well as prime minister.”
But Lammy hit back: “I’m not suggesting the prime minister is broke, we can have that debate. But the point is this - that successive prime ministers want to look their best, and their partners, for the country. That is what lies behind this.”