Lord Alli apologises after probe finds minor breaches

LABOUR donor Lord Waheed Alli, who was at the centre of a row over prime minister Keir Starmer and other politicians accepting freebies, apologised on Wednesday (23) after being found to have breached parliamentary rules.

An investigation by the parliamentary watchdog revealed that Alli failed to properly declare his interests in a charity and two companies on four occasions.

The Independent Commissioner for Standards reported on Wednesday that Alli, who sits in the House of Lords, should write a letter of apology to the chair of the conduct committee for these "minor breaches."

The British Asian businessman was asked to issue a formal apology to Baroness Manningham-Buller, the chair of the Lords conduct committee.

He said, “I am writing to you today to offer my apology for my breach of conduct by not registering my interests correctly. I will endeavour to keep to the code of conduct at all times to avoid such circumstances again.”

Over the past two decades, Alli has donated more than £600,000 to the Labour party, and provided an additional £112,348 in hospitality and staff costs for various politicians.

Among his gifts to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer were £32,200 worth of suits, along with £2,485 worth of glasses and £6,134 worth of dresses for Starmer's wife, Victoria.

However, these donations were not part of the investigation, which instead focused on unpaid roles that had not been declared, reported the Times.

The prime minister, meanwhile, insisted that no rules were broken in relation to Alli’s donations.

The investigation found that Alli had failed to disclose his role as a director and trustee of the Charlie Parsons Foundation, a charity he co-founded with his former partner. He also did not declare his unpaid directorship at Mac (BVI) Ltd, based in the British Virgin Islands, until questioned by journalists last month. It is a subsidiary of 450 plc, an investment firm where the Labour donor has declared his role as chairman.

Additionally, Alli did not update the parliamentary register to include his shareholding in Silvergate BP Bidco, the company behind the Peter Rabbit television series.

The probe was initiated after a member of the public filed a complaint. The Lords commissioner for standards, Martin Jelley, notified Alli of the investigation on 1 October. Alli responded promptly, explaining his interests and providing supporting evidence.

In August, the Sunday Times revealed that Alli, who led Labour's fundraising for the general election, briefly had a pass to No 10 following the election.

The government said that the pass was temporary and had been returned before the report was published.

(with inputs from Reuters)