Labour will move on from 'teething problems' gifts row, minister says

The Labour Government will move on from the “teething problems” of the row around gifts to senior MPs, a minister has said.

Trade minister Douglas Alexander said the stories around free gifts for Labour figures were “not the headlines we would have chosen” as the party holds its first conference in government for 14 years. Opponents have attacked Sir Keir Starmer and his top team for accepting gifts including clothing from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli. SNP MP Dave Doogan said the Prime Minister’s actions were “totally indefensible”.

Neither Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner nor Chancellor Rachel Reeves will accept such donations in the future.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme, Mr Alexander was asked why it was ever acceptable for Labour figures to accept the donations.

The Lothian East MP said: “In the short-term these headlines matter, and they’re not the headlines we would have chosen, I’m not going to pretend that. In the longer term, the trend lines matter much more.

“Do we re-establish stability in the economy and in the public finances? Can we raise living standards?”

Speaking from the party’s conference in Liverpool, he added: “The fact is we are going to, this week, hopefully move beyond some of the teething problems we’ve seen in recent days.”

Mr Alexander said the public expected prospective prime ministers to be “well turned out” but he accepted that some people would be “worried” by what they had read in newspapers.

He said Lord Alli was first appointed by former prime minister Tony Blair and there was “no suggestion” he received anything in return for the gifts to senior Labour figures.

Earlier, Mr Doogan said people would be “aghast at the naivety of UK