Lady Starmer skips London Fashion Week event amid free clothes row
Lady Starmer skipped a Downing Street event to celebrate London Fashion Week on Monday night, amid a row over free clothes she had received from a Labour donor.
The Prime Minister attended the event, which was held to celebrate and promote the British fashion industry.
Senior figures from the world of fashion had expected his wife to attend, with two of them planning to refer to her in their speeches.
But in the end only Sir Keir was in attendance at the British Fashion Council event. Lady Starmer stayed away, despite having attended a London Fashion Week catwalk event earlier in the day.
She had been pictured in the morning at the show by designer Edeline Lee, who lent her a polka dot outfit for the occasion.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister and his wife had both attended an event at the Holocaust Education Trust on Monday night.
A government source said the British Fashion Council had made a “mistake” by suggesting Lady Starmer would be there.
It follows the row over £5,000 worth of high-end clothes, personal shopping and garment alterations given to the Prime Minister’s wife by the Labour donor Lord Alli.
The donation was not declared to the parliamentary authorities within the 28 days required in rules for MPs.
The Downing Street event, hosted by Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, was to celebrate the 40th anniversary of London Fashion Week. Among the guests were Naomi Campbell, the supermodel, Sir Paul Smith, the designer, David Gandy, a male model, and June Sarpong, the TV presenter.
Lady Starmer had been sitting next to Ms Sarpong at the catwalk event earlier in the day.
A copy of a speech by David Pemsel, the British Fashion Council chairman, released in advance of the event, began: “Thank you, Prime Minister and Mrs Starmer for welcoming us to No 10 today. Given everything that’s going on in the world, we genuinely appreciate your hospitality and time.”
Caroline Rush, the chief executive, had planned to begin: “Prime Minister, Mrs Starmer, designers, colleagues, and friends.”
Both their comments suggested they expected Lady Starmer to attend.
On Monday, Sir Keir defended accepting gifts from Lord Alli, who was later given a pass to access Downing Street.
The Prime Minister suggested he would continue to take gifts from him despite a row over some of his donations not being declared in line with parliamentary rules.
The Labour peer has given Sir Keir tens of thousands of pounds to spend on suits and spectacles, on top of the gifts given to his wife.
The Prime Minister only declared the gifts to Lady Starmer, thought to have to be received both before and after he entered Downing Street, last week after initially believing they did not need to be added to the register.
Lady Starmer is one of a number of Prime Minister’s wives to have worn clothes by British designers to showcase the country’s fashion industry. She has also worn dresses by the British brand Me+Em.
