7 occasions Tories did not declare issues as PM bats away wardrobegate criticism

Keir Starmer has become embroiled in a donations row after a Labour peer shelled out thousands on clothes for him and his wife.

The Prime Minister has had to bat away questions after it emerged Lord Alli had paid for outfits for the couple before and after the General Election. At the weekend Foreign Secretary David Lammy defended it, saying it is important they “look good” on the world stage.

And Mr Starmer said it came to light because he is a stickler for the rules. The parliamentary commissioner for standards has since confirmed there is no need for an investigation. But in finding himself under the spotlight, Mr Starmer is walking a well-trodden path, as two of his most recent predecessors found themselves in similar situations.

Rishi Sunak was criticised and forced to make a humiliating apology after he failed to reveal his wife had a share in a childcare firm that benefited from his Government’s policies. And Boris Johnson had a string of standards probes to his name.

In another case, a former Tory minister was revealed to have had shares in oil giant Shell while she was Environment Secretary. Here we look at some of the nasty surprises and failures to declare things the public really should have known about.

1. Rishi Sunak failed to mention childcare firm

One of the best-known examples was Mr Sunak’s failure to declare his wife’s interest in a childcare firm that benefited from Tory Budget measures. The then-PM faced a standards probe last year after failing to declare Mrs Murty’s involvement in Koru Kids.

Mr Sunak made a humiliating apology for failing to tell MPs about the shares. He was found to have “inadvertently” broken the MPs’ code of conduct by not declaring his wife’s stake when questioned by MPs. He then failed to correct the record in a letter to a committee chairman days later.

Downing Street had initially maintained the PM had followed the rules “to the letter”. Koru Kids was one of six private childcare providers set to benefit from a Government pilot scheme announced by then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to incentivise recruitment of childminders.

Commons standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg said Mr Sunak should have mentioned it when addressing the cross-party liaison committee during a grilling on March 28. He found that rules had been broken but accepted that Mr Sunak – who promised to lead a Government of “integrity, professionalism, and accountability” – had got “confused”.

2. Boris Johnson’s wallpaper debacle

Mr Johnson had a long history of sparking standards investigations. One of the most intriguing was over a costly makeover to the then-PM’s Downing Street flat – without knowing who was paying for it.

A report by standards advisor Lord Geidt said Mr Johnson should have had “more rigorous regard for how this would be funded” and ruled he had acted “unwisely”. It cost £58,000 to refit the property, and it later emerged the cash had come from Tory peer Lord Brownlow.

Lord Geidt cleared the then-PM of breaching the ministerial code, but said the debacle did raise questions on whether Mr Johnson had fulfilled his “absolute duty” to set a high standard of conduct.

3. Boris Johnson failing to declare share in house

Another time Boris Johnson was found to have broken rules came in 2019 when he failed to declare his share on a home in Somerset on time. The Commons standards committee said the future Tory leader had an “over-casual attitude towards obeying the rules of the house”.

Mr Johnson said he didn’t understand the rules – but the committee dismissed this. He had failed to register a 20% share of the property’s ownership within 28 days.

4. Rishi Sunak holding a US Green card

Unknown to the general public, Rishi Sunak held a US green card for some of the time he was Chancellor. Mr Sunak, who headed the Treasury under Boris Johnson, was allowed permanent residence to the United States until October 2021.

He returned the document ahead of his first American trip as a Government minister, his team confirmed the following year. Although it didn’t break any rules, the revelation came after it emerged his wife was not liable for UK taxes on her overseas earnings – more on that below.

Mr Sunak accused his critics of running a “smear” campaign, and was continually forced to deny he was keeping his options open to quit the UK. When the news broke, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey was straight in demanding a resignation, stating: “Never mind a green card; it’s time to give Rishi Sunak the red card.”

5. Furore over Mrs Murty’s non-dom status

Another surprise that Mr Sunak had up his sleeve was that his wife Akshata Murty was claiming non-dom status. This could save her more than £2million a year in UK tax, it is believed.

The former Prime Minister came under intense fire, but claimed he’d been the victim of “unpleasant smears”. A later investigation found he hadn’t broken any parliamentary rules, but the revelation proved hugely damaging.

Labour described it as “breathtaking hypocracy” given that Mr Sunak was in charge of the public purse. He told The Sun at the time: “To smear my wife to get at me is awful.” Boris Johnson denied being behind the leak, saying: “If there are such briefings, they are not coming from us in No 10, and heaven knows where they are coming from. I think that Rishi is doing an absolutely outstanding job.”

6. Boris Johnson failing to declare income

Back in 2018, before he became PM, Boris Johnson was forced to offer MPs a “full and unreserved apology” after he was late declaring more than £52,000 in income.

His repeated failure to do so in a timely manner sparked a report by the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone. She said the PM had failed to register payments nine times in the previous year.

The income came from Mr Johnson’s work as a newspaper columnist and writer.

7. Ex-Environment Secretary who had shares in Shell

Not a former Prime Minister, but definitely an eye-catching case. Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers owned more than £70,000 worth of secret shares in oil giant Shell throughout her time as Environment Secretary.

The Mirror last year revealed that Ms Villiers had updated her register of MPs’ interests to reveal that she had owned large shareholdings in a series of firms for up to five years without declaring them. They include stakes worth at least £70,000 – the sum needed to require a declaration – in finance firm Experian, drinks giant Diageo and oil firm Shell.

Ms Villiers told the Mirror she “deeply regrets her failure” but insisted she was not “influenced by these shareholdings” while in office. But the Good Law Project said it “raises serious questions about whether the Government’s duty to protect our environment was completely compromised”.