PM blames his son's GCSEs for taking £20,000 accommodation freebie saying he needed to study in peace By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline Published: 03:21 EDT, 25 September 2024 | Updated: 03:35 EDT, 25 September 2024 e-mail 5 View comments Keir Starmer has blamed his son's GCSEs for taking £20,000 in donations for accommodation. The PM insisted his teenager needed somewhere to study in peace while the family were under close scrutiny during the run-up to the election . Sir Keir also left the door open to accepting more hospitality from donors, saying it was a matter of 'judgement' for MPs.
The premier has been accused of hypocrisy over gifts after Labour was highly critical of Boris Johnson and other Tories when they were in power. But in a round of interviews after his speech to party conference last night, Sir Keir said he was 'not going to apologise for not doing anything wrong' and the freebies did not 'cost the taxpayer a penny'. Keir Starmer (pictured) has blamed his son's GCSEs for taking £20,000 in donations for accommodation He insisted the transition to Downing Street had been 'really difficult' for his two children, who were previously raised in North London.
Asked about the donations, Sir Keir said that around £20,000 he had declared from Lord Alli for unspecified accommodation was for his teenager to study for exams in a 'peaceful' atmosphere while there was intense media attention in the run-up to the election. 'My boy, 16, was in the middle.