Peer at centre of Starmer's donations row spotted at Labour conference

The millionaire peer at the centre of Sir Keir Starmer's donations row was spotted at Labour's conference today - but remained tight-lipped over his lavish gifts to the PM.

Lord Waheed Alli was photographed in a dark suit and white trainers as he joined other conference attendees in battling the rain in Liverpool.

He has been caught up in a 'wardrobegate' row after splurging £18,685 on suits and glasses for Sir Keir ahead of the general election.

Lord Alli has also been revealed to have bought high-end clothing for Sir Keir's wife, Victoria, and allowed Deputy PM Angela Rayner to stay in his plush New York apartment while on holiday.

There has been close scrutiny of Lord Alli's links to Sir Keir after it emerged the Labour peer was given a No10 pass shortly after the party's election win, despite seemingly not having a Government role.

His pass has since been handed back but Sir Keir has continued to be dogged by a row also dubbed as 'passes for glasses'.

Sky News approached Lord Alli about his donations to Sir Keir in Liverpool, but he told one of the TV news channel's journalists: 'Please don't - this is not very nice.'

On the eve of Labour's conference, Sir Keir, Ms Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves all pledged to no longer accept any further donations for clothing.

But questions about gifts have continued to dominate Labour's gathering in Liverpool, with Ms Phillipson forced to defend taking £14,000 from Lord Alli to host 'work events' - which included her 40th birthday bash.

Ms Rayner on Sunday said she understood why people were 'frustrated' and 'angry' that senior Labour figures had received thousands of pounds in gifts.

But she added these had been 'a feature of our politics for a very long time', arguing that donations were necessary because of the expense of running for office, and stressing the importance of transparency.