Downing Street has said Sir Keir Starmer did not break any rules when he used Lord Alli’s London penthouse to record a COVID-era broadcast urging people to “work from home”.
The prime minister revealed on Wednesday he used the millionaire Labour peer’s home, estimated to be worth £18m, for his son to study for his GCSEs this summer so he could do so undisturbed during the election campaign.
Sir Keir declared the use of Lord Alli’s penthouse as being worth £20,437.28 from 28 May to 13 July, although questions remain about why he continued to use it after exams finished on 19 June.
It has now emerged the Labour leader used the penthouse to record a Christmas video message in December 2021 during the COVID pandemic, as first reported by the political news website Guido Fawkes.
A Downing Street spokesman said no rules were broken.
The Tory government had announced new guidance five days before, asking people to work from home where possible to limit the spread of the Omicron variant.
Behind Sir Keir were pictures of his family and Christmas cards, however, the same shelving had previously appeared in a video from inside Lord Alli’s flat.
In the video, he said: “At times like this, we must all put the national interest first and play by the rules.
“Of course, I understand that sticking to the rules can be inconvenient.
“Getting jabbed, wearing masks and working from home if you can will really help prevent infections and help prevent the NHS being overwhelmed.”
Lord Alli at an event at London’s Hilton Park Lane in 2015. Pic: PA
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On Wednesday, Sir Keir defended using Lord Alli’s home, telling Sky News he had “promised” his 16-year-old son he could get to his school and sit his exams without being disturbed by photographers and protesters outside their home.
The prime minister said he had made a pledge to his wife, son and daughter that he would “protect them”.
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Sir Keir told political editor Beth Rigby that when the election was called ahead of the exam period, it meant there were “a lot of journalists” and also protesters “outside my front door”.
At this point he told his son, who is 16, he would find somewhere he could “just study and get to school and back without having to go through all of that”.
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Sir Keir said it was after this that “someone” offered to make a flat “available” for his son – but claimed “no money exchanged hands”.
“I wasn’t going to let my son fail or not do well in his GCSEs because of journalists outside the front door,” the father-of-two added.