S
ir Keir Starmer has breached MPs’ code of conduct by failing to register eight interests on time, including gifts of football kits and the sale of land.
In June, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone, opened an investigation into the Labor leader, related to claims about late declarations of earnings and gifts, benefits or hospitality from UK sources.
Speaking at the time, Sir Keir said he was “absolutely confident” he had not broken the code of conduct for MPs.
The commissioner has now found that the Leader of the Opposition did not register eight interests, five more than those alleged in the original complaint.
However, it noted that “the violations were minor and/or inadvertent, and there was no deliberate attempt to deceive.”
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The watchdog therefore decided that the investigation could be concluded through the “rectification” procedure, without referral to the Rules Committee, which happens in the most serious cases.
The rectification procedure involves publishing the data and an apology on the Commons website.
A Labor Party spokesman said: “Keir Starmer takes his responsibilities to the Register very seriously and has apologized to the commissioner for this inadvertent error.
“He has assured the commissioner that his office’s processes have been reviewed to ensure this does not happen again.”
In the initial complaint to the commissioner, it was alleged that between 6 March 2022 and 13 May 2022, Sir Keir failed to record, on three occasions, the income and hospitality he had accepted, within of the 28-day period established by the House.
The watchdog carried out a review of Sir Keir’s record entry over the past 12 months and flagged four additional late entries.
During the inquiry, Sir Keir also informed Ms Stone that he was in the process of selling land for a sum that exceeded the £100,000 threshold for registration set by the House.
The commissioner wrote in her report: “Sir Keir said he had liaised with the Registrar of Members’ Financial Interests on this matter and, having valued the land in January 2022 and put the land on the market in March 2022, I was waiting for the sale to finish so I could record the correct value.
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“I decided to include this matter as part of my inquiry.”
Ms Stone found that Sir Keir had failed to register the eight interests listed above, including the land, and had “breached paragraph 14 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament in the House of Commons”.
However, he continued: “I found that, based on the information available, the offenses were minor and/or inadvertent, and that there was no deliberate attempt to deceive.
“I therefore decided that the investigation could be concluded through the rectification 35 procedure provided for in Order No. 150.”
In a letter to the commissioner dated June 21, Sir Keir reiterated that the late statements were “the result of an administrative error within my office”, adding: “I take full responsibility for my record and apologise.” .
“My office and I have reviewed the process to ensure that this does not happen again,” he said.