Sir Keir Starmer has a two tier approach to sleaze, blasts Tory hopeful Kemi Badenoch amid ‘frock-gate’
SIR Keir Starmer has a two-tier approach to sleaze, Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has blasted.
She said “frock-gate” — as the PM faces criticism over luxury clothing donations for his wife — is exposing “a significant amount of hypocrisy”.
Ms Badenoch told our Never Mind the Ballots show of Labour politicians’ stance: “They think that they’re just better people and that when they do things, it’s OK.
“But when people on the right, when Conservatives do things, that’s when it’s bad.”
She added: “It’s not just the clothes. It’s the use of private jets, which they criticised Rishi Sunak for.
“There’s a feeling it’s not about the action, it’s about who’s doing it.”
Sir Keir met former model Naomi Campbell at Downing Street on Monday, as No10 grappled with the fallout from the Starmers accepting gifts from Labour peer Lord Alli.
While Sir Keir declared donations, clothes for Lady Victoria, who has attended London Fashion Week, were registered after the 28-day limit set by Parliament’s anti-sleaze registers.
Ms Badenoch also warned that “people didn’t know what they were voting for when they were voting for Labour” after the surprise scrapping of Winter Fuel Payments last month.
Her put downs came after ministers struggled to defend the donations to Sir Keir and his wife.
In a toe-curling interview, Dame Angela Eagle claimed to have “no opinion” on the scandal — accusing a presenter of “ranting” for asking her questions about it.
But one veteran Labour MP refused to say there was any justification for Starmer’s free-loading.
Asked if the row was defensible by LBC, Barry Gardiner said: “No.”