Sir Keir Starmer on Monday angrily hit back after the Conservatives demanded that he “stop the rot” of Civil Service “cronyism” if he wants to rebuild trust in politics.
Shadow science secretary Andrew Griffith attacked Labour actions since last month’s general election amid a row over access given to 10 Downing Street for top party donor Lord Alli.
He was given a pass to No10 after the election despite having no formal job there. The TV tycoon has donated more than £500,000 to Labour over the past 20 years and provided clothing, “multiple pairs of glasses” and accommodation for Sir Keir.
Addressing reporters after a major speech, the Prime Minister insisted that the Labour peer was a respected figure who had been given a temporary pass to advise the new government, which had now been rescinded.
The PM said he wanted “honesty and integrity” in his government, and “the right people in the right places”.
He added: “Most of these allegations and accusations are coming from the very people that dragged our country down in the first place.”
Sir Keir told the public in the speech earlier: “This government won’t always be perfect, but I promise this: you will be at the heart of our government and in the forefront of our minds.”
Mr Griffith accused the PM of undermining trust by pursuing steps that were not part of the Labour manifesto, including scrapping pensioners’ winter fuel allowance, granting “big bumper pay rises for the public sector” and scrapping investments in supercomputing.
There was also nothing in the manifesto “about appointing Labour donors and supporters to the absolute top, impartial Civil Service jobs, which has been the quietly brewing scandal, the cronyism that’s been going on over the course of the summer”, the Tory MP said on Times Radio.
“So if the Prime Minister wants to talk today as the Prime Minister, I’d like to hear from him about how he’s getting on with delivering the things in the manifesto, how he’s going to stop the rot in terms of cronyism corrupting the Civil Service,” he said, demanding a probe by the PM’s independent ethics adviser.
“If the Prime Minister wants to rebuild trust in politics, which we all do, we’ve had an election, he needs to stop behaving like a leader of the opposition and start governing.
“Governing is hard, but the way you build trust in politics is where politicians do what they say they will.”
Cabinet Office minister Ellie Reeves insisted that the “proper processes” were followed with regard to Lord Alli’s pass.
The Labour chairwoman added on Sky News: “There’s no rules that prevent someone who has made a donation or had a political job in the past being, having a role.”
Ms Reeves also denied that junior minister Georgia Gould had broken the ministerial code by failing to disclose to the Commons the government’s appointment of Louise Tinsley.
Ms Tinsley was recruited to a senior advisory role in the Treasury under the Labour chairwoman’s sister, Rachel Reeves.
The advisor and the chancellor began their careers together at the Bank of England.
