Keir Starmer is being investigated by Parliament’s standards commissioner for alleged breaches of the rules on declaring financial interest worth more than £ 18,000.
The investigation opened last week and concerns claims about late declarations of earnings and gifts, benefits or hospitality from UK sources.
Starmer insisted Monday morning that he was confident he had not broken the MPs’ code of conduct and said: “There is no problem here.”
During a campaign visit to Wakefield ahead of the June 23 by-election, the Labor leader told broadcasters that the allegations were not a surprise, adding: “My office is busy and will respond in its turn. moment “.
When asked if he was sure he had done anything wrong, he insisted: “Absolutely confident. There is no problem here. “
Starmer’s spokesman said he had “apologized for the fact that administrative errors in his office had led to a small number of late statements” and that he would provide more information to standards commissioner Kathryn Stone.
Stone provides very limited details about the MPs under investigation, of whom there are currently three: Starmer, Home Secretary Chris Philp and a Conservative MP, Andrew Bridgen.
It was understood that Starmer’s late statements were related to the hospitality industry, including football tickets and book payments.
Last month it was revealed that Starmer is writing a book about Britain under a Labor government, inspired by the notes he began writing during confinement.
The publisher HarperCollins paid him an advance of £ 18,000, which he has pledged to donate to a charity.
Deputies’ latest record of interest shows that Starmer recently added several entries: the book rate for one to five hours of work per week since March 2020 was received in April, and tickets for two football matches worth more than £ 2,000 received in March and April.
Stone often does not uphold the allegations against MPs, dismissing 10 of those referred to him for investigation at the last parliamentary session.
Labor sources downplayed any suggestion that Starmer wanted to hide payments and hospitality received.
Some suspected the accusation had been made to embarrass Starmer at a time when his leadership was already under pressure because police were investigating him for allegedly having a beer with his teammates defying Covid’s rules.
Starmer’s allies have called him “Mr Rules” in recent months for trying to contrast his history as a former lawyer who repeatedly isolated himself during the pandemic when he and his family tested positive for Covid with Boris Johnson. .
The contrast was used to paint Starmer as a diligent follower of the rules and Johnson as a serial rule-breaker, as it has been shown that the Prime Minister’s repeated denials that there were no parties on Downing Street during the blockade ‘have shown that they are not true.