>Keir Starmer has been put under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner for potentially breaching the rules on earnings and gifts.
>
>The Labour leader is being investigated under paragraph 14 of the parliamentary code of conduct, which covers the registration of their interests and being “open and frank” in declarations.
>
>More follows…
Politicians…
Since some have problems accessing the Independent, continuing:
>The [commissioner’s webpage](https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/complaints-and-investigations/allegations-currently-under-investigation-by-the-commissioner/), which announced the investigations on Monday, lists two matters under investigation in relation to Sir Keir’s conduct.
>
>The first refers to “the registration of interests under Category 1 of the Guide to the Rules”, which refers to MPs’ outside employment and earnings.
>
>The second refers to “registration of interests under Category 3 of the Guide to the Rules”, which refers to gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources collected by MPs.
>
>The Labour leader is one of three MPs currently under investigation by the standards commissioner. The other two are Andrew Bridgen, a Tory MP who is under investigation for alleged paid advocacy – or lobbying – as well as matters relating to his declaration of interests.
>
>Tory MP Chris Philp is also being probed by the watchdog for improper use of his parliamentary email address.
>
>It is unclear at this stage what Sir Keir’s standards investigation exactly relates to. He has previously registered significant outside earnings for legal work before becoming party leader.
>
>Asked to respond to the news during a broadcast interview, Sir Keir said: “That’s an investigation that we’ll be responding to in due course.”
>
>When he was asked what the investigation was about, he replied: “I’ll need to talk to my office about that, but we’ll be responding in due course.”
>
>The Labour leader was asked whether the news had taken him by surprise, and responded: “No.”
>
>Asked when he was made aware of the investigation, he replied: “All MPs are made aware of there any any concerns and my office is dealing with it and we’ll be replying in due course.”
>
>He added that he was “Absolutely confident. There’s no problem here.”
>
>The opposition leader has in recent months strongly criticised Boris Johnson for rule-breaking during lockdown, gaining political ground over the issue.
>
>Labour colleagues told the media that their boss was, in contrast to the prime minister, “Mr Rules” and highlighted that he was previously director of public prosecutions.
Recommended
>
>But the opposition leader last month received a questionnaire from Durham police over allegations he too broke lockdown laws while on the campaign trail there last year. Both that police investigation and the one launched by the parliamentary standards commissioner are yet to conclude.
>
>Mr Johnson was meanwhile handed a £50 fixed penalty notice for breaching rules at Downing Street. He refused to resign, and also survived a no-confidence vote from his own MPs. Sir Keir has promised to resign if he is fined for any breach.
>
>*Jon Stone Policy Correspondent*
>
>Monday 13 June 2022
I think Keir is a toothless dog that is neglecting left wing voters. But this is clearly an attempt to make Labour ‘look as bad’ as Tories. So all of Boris’ crimes get pushed onto Labour as well.
Wouldn’t surprise me if this was the start of a Tory leadership shift that would leave them looking new and crime free with a fresh face at the helm, while Labour is left with the stench of lockdown parties and corruption
I really hope that Kier hasnt been taking £840 / rolls of wallpaper!
‘They’re all as bad as each other’ says Brenda, as she votes tory again.
‘Better the devil you know’ is one justification I’ve heard from a tory voter before.
Thing is these declarations were made, it’s just that they were late. So either he or his team or both are just idiots because this story did not need to happen. But it did because they didn’t declare things on time.
Ah well, I’m sure with Keir’s strong history of good relations with hard left supporters will mean he’ll be okay.
Keir Starmer is just a less amusing Boris Johnson
I don’t really care, tbh.
Maybe Labour will be just as bad or worse than the Tories. I doubt it, but maybe.
We gotta find out though, because we can’t keep rewarding the Tories for what we KNOW are law and convention infringements on the regular.
The Tories contempt for the voter is just too much.
If Labour are similar or worse, then we can always vote the Tories back in. They’re worth a shot, though.
Remember, Boris regularly declared late so if Tories attack Starmer for this they need to attack Boris or shut the fuck up. This is only a smoking gun if you’re going to make it stick on everyone who is late.
It does look bad to declare late and it is right that it triggers an investigation. If Keir has actually breached the rules he should be punished BUT if this is just a late submission nothing else then a wrist slap is all it needs.
The Tories have paid off the commissioner to investigate Starmer again, first it was Beergate now this they’re really terrified of Labour majority government, they’re doing the best they can to lessen his power before they lose the next GE.
I suspect this won’t be the last they will keep doing it try to find every little thing to investigate him with until it sticks, remember Boris’s comment about Jimmy Savile towards Starmer?
£3000 worth of book royalties and a football ticket….
That’ll probably be enough to make the both sides shit work though…
As others have pointed out here. It may be somewhat common for these declarations to be late, and Boris Johnson may have done it as well until he became leader- but Keir Starmer is the leader of the opposition and his pitch to become Prime Minister is based upon Boris Johnson’s dishonesty and lack of integrity.
It is so naive to then fail to be diligent in your own affairs and be under investigation.
This reeks of distraction and political abuse. I have no love for labour but it just strikes me a bit odd that a mere week after Boris getting a no confidence vote, the head of Labour is suddenly investigated.
​
That said, there’s no decent parties anymore and sadly, i suspect we’re stuck with the tory tosspots for a few more decades.
At least he will admit it.
BoJo and Co just deny deny deny, and when they are found out they try to shift blame, or let the Lord who was investigating them resign or change the code to make it legal.
Perfer Labour to admit rather than deny and hide like the Tories tbh.
Doubt it will constitute any significant breach of the rules, but if there is found to be some kind of late declaration or anything like that his whole ‘forensic’ image becomes a bit of a joke. Of course we can recognise that Boris has done worse, but when Starmer’s entire electoral strategy is based on integrity, honesty, abiding by the rules etc etc etc he has to be beyond squeaky clean.
If he has broke rules I would like to see if he is a man of his word and step down.
I am now at the point where I do not trust any of them. As the old joke goes.. “how can you tell a politician is telling lies…. their lips are moving.”
When was the last time anyone trusted politicians and never ended up regretting it?
I am waiting for Rees Mogg to come on TV to tell us we all must move on from this, it is not what the public is interested in!
/s
Am glad!
Am still shocked, the guy had an non alcoholic lite beer.
Literal nothing story, which means beergate has been thrown out (coincidentally also a nothing story).
Jesus fucking Christ can we stop this shit and get a halfway functioning government?
I guess the answer to that is fat chance.
Please for fuck sake vote Bozza out at the next election. Labour and Lib Dem, get your fucking houses in order and mobilise behind some solid policies. Please just end this shambles.
Considering the fact that it seems that every politician voted into office is or shortly becomes a fucking criminal … maybe the political system being used is fucked and needs more than a bit of fixing.
Feels like Russia when the opposition candidate keeps getting accused and investigated over nothing
No.
First you need to deal with a PM who keeps lying to parliament, who’s corrupt, who’s criminally incompetent.
I’m not pretending i give a fuck about starmer making some 3 pound expenses error until them.
24 comments
[removed]
>Keir Starmer has been put under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner for potentially breaching the rules on earnings and gifts.
>
>The Labour leader is being investigated under paragraph 14 of the parliamentary code of conduct, which covers the registration of their interests and being “open and frank” in declarations.
>
>More follows…
Politicians…
Since some have problems accessing the Independent, continuing:
>The [commissioner’s webpage](https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliamentary-commissioner-for-standards/complaints-and-investigations/allegations-currently-under-investigation-by-the-commissioner/), which announced the investigations on Monday, lists two matters under investigation in relation to Sir Keir’s conduct.
>
>The first refers to “the registration of interests under Category 1 of the Guide to the Rules”, which refers to MPs’ outside employment and earnings.
>
>The second refers to “registration of interests under Category 3 of the Guide to the Rules”, which refers to gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources collected by MPs.
>
>The Labour leader is one of three MPs currently under investigation by the standards commissioner. The other two are Andrew Bridgen, a Tory MP who is under investigation for alleged paid advocacy – or lobbying – as well as matters relating to his declaration of interests.
>
>Tory MP Chris Philp is also being probed by the watchdog for improper use of his parliamentary email address.
>
>It is unclear at this stage what Sir Keir’s standards investigation exactly relates to. He has previously registered significant outside earnings for legal work before becoming party leader.
>
>Asked to respond to the news during a broadcast interview, Sir Keir said: “That’s an investigation that we’ll be responding to in due course.”
>
>When he was asked what the investigation was about, he replied: “I’ll need to talk to my office about that, but we’ll be responding in due course.”
>
>The Labour leader was asked whether the news had taken him by surprise, and responded: “No.”
>
>Asked when he was made aware of the investigation, he replied: “All MPs are made aware of there any any concerns and my office is dealing with it and we’ll be replying in due course.”
>
>He added that he was “Absolutely confident. There’s no problem here.”
>
>The opposition leader has in recent months strongly criticised Boris Johnson for rule-breaking during lockdown, gaining political ground over the issue.
>
>Labour colleagues told the media that their boss was, in contrast to the prime minister, “Mr Rules” and highlighted that he was previously director of public prosecutions.
Recommended
>
>But the opposition leader last month received a questionnaire from Durham police over allegations he too broke lockdown laws while on the campaign trail there last year. Both that police investigation and the one launched by the parliamentary standards commissioner are yet to conclude.
>
>Mr Johnson was meanwhile handed a £50 fixed penalty notice for breaching rules at Downing Street. He refused to resign, and also survived a no-confidence vote from his own MPs. Sir Keir has promised to resign if he is fined for any breach.
>
>*Jon Stone Policy Correspondent*
>
>Monday 13 June 2022
–
Little **update**:
>11:37am: [Starmer apologises for submitting declarations to Commons register of interests late](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2022/jun/13/boris-johnson-conservatives-brexit-northern-ireland-protocol-uk-politics-latest?page=with:block-62a710918f08f7f9ebefe192#block-62a710918f08f7f9ebefe192)
>
>A spokesperson for Keir Starmer has issued this statement about the late declaration being investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards. ([See 11.22am](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2022/jun/13/boris-johnson-conservatives-brexit-northern-ireland-protocol-uk-politics-latest?page=with:block-62a70ebb8f08f7f9ebefe170#block-62a70ebb8f08f7f9ebefe170).)
>
>**”***Keir Starmer takes his declaration responsibilities very seriously and has already apologised for the fact that administrative errors in his office have led to a small number of late declarations. The standards commissioner has asked for more information which we are happy to provide.*
>
>It is not particularly unusual for MPs to be reprimanded for making declarations for the Commons register of members’ interests late. Starmer has a better record than Boris Johnson, who was repeatedly criticised for registering interests late before he became PM. In a report in 2019 the Commons standards committee noted Johnson’s “over-casual attitude towards obeying the rules of the house”.
I think Keir is a toothless dog that is neglecting left wing voters. But this is clearly an attempt to make Labour ‘look as bad’ as Tories. So all of Boris’ crimes get pushed onto Labour as well.
Wouldn’t surprise me if this was the start of a Tory leadership shift that would leave them looking new and crime free with a fresh face at the helm, while Labour is left with the stench of lockdown parties and corruption
I really hope that Kier hasnt been taking £840 / rolls of wallpaper!
‘They’re all as bad as each other’ says Brenda, as she votes tory again.
‘Better the devil you know’ is one justification I’ve heard from a tory voter before.
Thing is these declarations were made, it’s just that they were late. So either he or his team or both are just idiots because this story did not need to happen. But it did because they didn’t declare things on time.
Ah well, I’m sure with Keir’s strong history of good relations with hard left supporters will mean he’ll be okay.
Keir Starmer is just a less amusing Boris Johnson
I don’t really care, tbh.
Maybe Labour will be just as bad or worse than the Tories. I doubt it, but maybe.
We gotta find out though, because we can’t keep rewarding the Tories for what we KNOW are law and convention infringements on the regular.
The Tories contempt for the voter is just too much.
If Labour are similar or worse, then we can always vote the Tories back in. They’re worth a shot, though.
Remember, Boris regularly declared late so if Tories attack Starmer for this they need to attack Boris or shut the fuck up. This is only a smoking gun if you’re going to make it stick on everyone who is late.
It does look bad to declare late and it is right that it triggers an investigation. If Keir has actually breached the rules he should be punished BUT if this is just a late submission nothing else then a wrist slap is all it needs.
The Tories have paid off the commissioner to investigate Starmer again, first it was Beergate now this they’re really terrified of Labour majority government, they’re doing the best they can to lessen his power before they lose the next GE.
I suspect this won’t be the last they will keep doing it try to find every little thing to investigate him with until it sticks, remember Boris’s comment about Jimmy Savile towards Starmer?
£3000 worth of book royalties and a football ticket….
That’ll probably be enough to make the both sides shit work though…
As others have pointed out here. It may be somewhat common for these declarations to be late, and Boris Johnson may have done it as well until he became leader- but Keir Starmer is the leader of the opposition and his pitch to become Prime Minister is based upon Boris Johnson’s dishonesty and lack of integrity.
It is so naive to then fail to be diligent in your own affairs and be under investigation.
This reeks of distraction and political abuse. I have no love for labour but it just strikes me a bit odd that a mere week after Boris getting a no confidence vote, the head of Labour is suddenly investigated.
​
That said, there’s no decent parties anymore and sadly, i suspect we’re stuck with the tory tosspots for a few more decades.
At least he will admit it.
BoJo and Co just deny deny deny, and when they are found out they try to shift blame, or let the Lord who was investigating them resign or change the code to make it legal.
Perfer Labour to admit rather than deny and hide like the Tories tbh.
Doubt it will constitute any significant breach of the rules, but if there is found to be some kind of late declaration or anything like that his whole ‘forensic’ image becomes a bit of a joke. Of course we can recognise that Boris has done worse, but when Starmer’s entire electoral strategy is based on integrity, honesty, abiding by the rules etc etc etc he has to be beyond squeaky clean.
If he has broke rules I would like to see if he is a man of his word and step down.
I am now at the point where I do not trust any of them. As the old joke goes.. “how can you tell a politician is telling lies…. their lips are moving.”
When was the last time anyone trusted politicians and never ended up regretting it?
I am waiting for Rees Mogg to come on TV to tell us we all must move on from this, it is not what the public is interested in!
/s
Am glad!
Am still shocked, the guy had an non alcoholic lite beer.
Literal nothing story, which means beergate has been thrown out (coincidentally also a nothing story).
Jesus fucking Christ can we stop this shit and get a halfway functioning government?
I guess the answer to that is fat chance.
Please for fuck sake vote Bozza out at the next election. Labour and Lib Dem, get your fucking houses in order and mobilise behind some solid policies. Please just end this shambles.
Considering the fact that it seems that every politician voted into office is or shortly becomes a fucking criminal … maybe the political system being used is fucked and needs more than a bit of fixing.
Feels like Russia when the opposition candidate keeps getting accused and investigated over nothing
No.
First you need to deal with a PM who keeps lying to parliament, who’s corrupt, who’s criminally incompetent.
I’m not pretending i give a fuck about starmer making some 3 pound expenses error until them.