Labour to tighten gift rules after Duffield's resignation

Party fights back against accusations of sleaze’ and avarice’

- DAVID MADDOX, MILLIE COOKE

Sir Keir Starmer has launched a fightback against accusations that his government is mired in “sleaze, nepotism and avarice”, with an announcement that the rules on declaring donations and gifts will be changed.

The prime minister and a succession of cabinet ministers have been criticised for accepting thousands of pounds’ worth of freebies from corporate sponsors and millionaire donors, with the scandal hitting the party in the polls.

In a bid to put the government back on track, Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who runs the Cabinet Office – the “engine room” of Whitehall – announced that rules for ministers would be tightened up. He claimed that the current rules were a “Tory loophole” designed to protect previous Conservative ministers.

The move came as:

• Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield quit Labour, accusing Sir Keir of presiding over “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice”, and followed up by claiming that the prime minister “has a woman problem”

• Mr McFadden dismissed £16,000 in donations for Sir Keir’s clothes and £32,000 for ministers and their spouses for clothes as “a campaign expense”

• Loyalist Labour parliamentarians launched what appeared to be a coordinated attack on “the right-wing conspiracy” against Sir Keir

• The Tories opened their conference in Birmingham, as senior figures within the party expressed “deep concern” that the party is not providing meaningful opposition

• A row broke out between Tory leadership hopefuls over comments Kemi Badenoch made regarding “excessive” maternity pay

• Former PM Rishi Sunak went into hiding and only gave a speech in private to a select group of Tory members