‘I’d like to pretend this is my apartment’: Keir Starmer jokes with US business leaders amid row over his undeclared use of Labour donor’s £18m London penthouse to address the nation on TV
Keir Starmer joked about pretending a flash UK government building in New York was his own home today – amid questions over whether he used a Labour donor’s opulent penthouse as his own home.
The PM made the off-the-cuff remark as he entertained US business leaders at the British consul general’s $16million residence in Manhattan.
The plush seven-bedroom apartment, close to UN headquarters overlooking the East River, was purchased five years ago when Tory Jeremy Hunt was foreign secretary and has been used by politicians and royalty including the Prince of Wales.
Sir Keir, who is embroiled in a row about his use of Labour donor Lord Alli’s Covent Garden pad, joked to the US business chiefs about the consul general’s residence: ‘I’d like to pretend this is my apartment to welcome you to.’
It came after he aid he did not declare using Lord Alli’s £18million apartment in central London for political purposes because he was ‘only there for a couple of hours’.
A Tory source said: ‘There is no limits to other people’s properties Keir Starmer would happily live in.
‘But this crass comment just goes to show just how out of touch this Prime Minister is, joking about his crony gifted residences whilst pensioners face the hard choice between heating and eating.’
The PM made the off-the-cuff remark as he entertained US business leaders at the British consul general’s $16million residence in Manhattan.
Sir Keir, who is embroiled in a row about his use of Labour donor Lord Alli’s Covent Garden pad, joked to the US business chiefs about the consul general’s residence: ‘I’d like to pretend this is my apartment to welcome you to.’
The seven-bedroom apartment, close to UN headquarters overlooking the East River, was purchased five years ago when Tory Jeremy Hunt was foreign secretary and has been used by politicians and royalty including the Prince of Wales (pictured last year)
Keir Starmer is facing questions today over why he failed to declare repeatedly using a donor’s £18million penthouse for his political purposes
Located in Convent Garden the luxury pad (Pictured: The exterior) has been a longtime hangout for Labour grandes
Sir Keir declared accepting accommodation worth more than £20,000 from the Labour donor
The PM later visited the Nasdaq ahead of addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York
The PM has spent weeks wrestling to contain a growing row over ‘freebies’ accepted by himself and other frontbenchers.
But Sir Keir’s problems have widened after fresh details were revealed about his use of Lord Alli’s luxury home in central London.
The premier yesterday defended taking £20,000 worth of free accommodation at the flat in the run-up to the election, saying his son needed ‘peace’ to study for his GCSEs.
It has also emerged that Sir Keir filmed TV statements to the nation at the flat, including about Christmas 2021 Covid rules and the death of the Queen in 2022.
The apartment was seemingly dressed to look like Sir Keir’s own home, with a family photo and festive cards on a bookshelf.
Under Commons rules, MPs should declare any benefit worth £300 or more ‘from the same source in a calendar year’.
TV property guru Kirstie Allsopp has voiced doubts about whether £3,300 per week was a realistic valuation for such an opulent residence, swiping that Sir Keir must be a ‘bargain hunter extraordinaire’
A senior Labour source said use of the flat for the statements did not need to appear the Parliamentary register because the use was ‘limited and so below the threshold’.
‘He was there less than a couple of hours each time,’ they said.
A Conservative Party spokesman 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.’
One statement filmed by Sir Keir – a response to Boris Johnson‘s Covid announcement at Christmas 2021 – included a family photo with wife Victoria and their two children on shelves behind the then-Opposition leader.
There were also festive cards and coffee table books artfully stacked against the stylish decor.
A televised speech expressing sadness at the death of the Queen in 2022 also seemed to have been filmed in the same place.
That featured an Obama book and homely ornaments on the shelves.
Tories complained that the images created the impression, especially given the ‘sticking to the rules’ message being delivered in 2021, that the video was shot in his family home in Kentish Town, north London.
However, the clip was actually shot in the same £18million flat into which the Labour leader and his family moved into during this year’s election campaign.
Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick said: ‘After years of Starmer’s piety, it looks like Mr Rules was trying to hoodwink the country all along.
Sir Keir response to Boris Johnson’s Covid announcement at Christmas 2021 included a family photo with wife Victoria and their two children on shelves behind the then-Opposition leader
Lord Waheed Alli has been a long-term supporter of Labour and Sir Keir. There is no suggestion he has broken any rules
He would have been the first to call for this to be investigated if the shoe was on the other foot – it’s only right that equal scrutiny applies.’
Tory MP Dr Kieran Mullan added: ‘Starmer says he is ‘Mr honesty and integrity’. If that was not his home, then he has apparently lied to the public.
‘Whether you say ‘this is my home’ or put up pictures to that effect, it’s a lie. It’s a visual lie.’
No 10 sources last night said the Labour leader was not living at Lord Alli’s at the time the 2021 clip, later broadcast on national TV, was filmed.
They insisted no social distancing guidance in place at the time was breached but did not offer an explanation as to why he did not film the address in his own home.
Asked if the PM was completely confident that no lockdown rules were broken at the time, his press secretary replied: ‘Correct.’
TV property guru Kirstie Allsopp voiced doubts about whether £3,300 per week was a realistic valuation for such an opulent residence, swiping that Sir Keir must be a ‘bargain hunter extraordinaire’.
