Keir Starmer refuses to apologise for accepting freebies

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to apologise for accepting freebies because he does not think he is "doing anything wrong".

The Prime Minister defended his decision to accept hospitality and clothing from donors.

He suggested he accepted £20,000 in donations for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his GCSEs while his family home was surrounded by journalists during the election campaign.

The Prime Minister also defended his decision to take gifts from Labour peer Lord Alli, saying he was "not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong" and the freebies did not "cost the taxpayer a penny".

Sir Keir signalled he could continue to accept hospitality from donors, saying that it was a matter of "judgement" for individual MPs whether they receive certain kinds of donations.

Asked about the donations, Sir Keir said that around £20,000 he had declared from Lord Alli for unspecified accommodation was for his teenager to study for exams in a "peaceful" atmosphere while the then-Labour leader was overwhelmed with media attention in the run-up to the election.

He said: "My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed.

"We have lots of journalists outside our house where we live and I'm not complaining about that, that's fine.

"But if you're a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it's your one chance in life - I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.

"Somebody then offered me accommodation where we could do that. I took that up and it was the right thing to do."

Asked whether he would like to apologise for the row, he told LBC: "I'm not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong."

The row over declarations by MPs and senior ministers had threatened to overshadow the Labour conference, with criticism aimed at both the PM and his ministers for accepting luxury gifts from wealthy donors while announcing cuts to the winter fuel allowance.

Sir Keir has said ministers will no longer take donations for clothing now they are in Government, but left the door open to receiving more access to events, such as the £4,000 worth of tickets to a Taylor Swift concert he accepted from the Premier League.

Asked whether he would rule out accepting such gifts in the future, he told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I think that's a matter of judgement. There has to be good reason."