Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner said she did not believe she had broken parliamentary rules by declaring that she was staying in a New York apartment owned by a Labour donor.
She told the BBC that Sir Waheed Ali was a friend and the trip was a “personal holiday”, but that she had been “transparent” by disclosing the purpose of the apartment because she had received donations from him in the past.
The Sunday Times reported that Mr Rayner was staying at Lord Ally’s flat in December last year with Sam Tully, who was then the Labour MP for Ilford South.
As the Labour Party begins its annual conference, there has been criticism over senior government officials, including the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, accepting donations of clothing and other gifts.
Mr Rayner said he understood why people were feeling “frustrated” and “angry” about the issue.
But she said donations have been a “feature of our politics for a very long time” and that all lawmakers receive gifts.
She argued that donations are necessary because campaigning is expensive, but said it was important for politicians to be transparent about where their donations come from.
Speaking about his stay with Tully at his New York apartment, Mr Rayner told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I don’t believe I broke any rules.
“I have the right to use the apartment and I have made that clear.
“In fact, I think I was overly transparent because as a friend, this person had already made a donation to me when I was deputy leader and I thought it was important, even though it was a personal day off.”
However, Mr Rayner was challenged as to whether he should have also declared that Mr Tully lived in the same apartment as him.
Parliamentary rules state that MPs must declare each visit they or their associates make outside the UK if a donor pays for “part of or in whole of the visit” for “parliamentary or political activity”.
Rayner said he did not believe Talley had broken any rules by failing to declare that he was staying at the apartment.
“It specifies whether it’s parliamentary business or whether it relates to parliamentary duties,” she said.
“That’s how I understood it. It was a private getaway.”
Mr Rayner added that he did not travel to New York with Mr Tully but met him there.
When asked if Sir Ali had received anything from her in exchange for his donation, Ms Rayner replied: “I haven’t promised anything and I haven’t given anything in return.”
A Conservative spokesman said Mr Rayner appeared to have breached the rules by not being transparent about his declaration.
“Mr Rayner must come clean immediately,” he said.
He added that Labour is “living a lavish lifestyle whilst forcing 10 million pensioners to choose between heating and eating by scrapping winter fuel payments for older people who are not in receipt of certain benefits”.
Labour’s relationship with Sir Ali has been under scrutiny since it emerged in August that he had temporarily been passing for Downing Street despite not holding a formal government role.
Asked who signed Sir Ally’s pass, Mr Rayner said he did not know but “certainly not because he donated it to me”.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson also defended the donation she received from Sir Aly.
She told BBC Radio 4 that donations totalling £14,000 had been used to fund two events she organised while she was shadow education secretary, one of which was to celebrate her 40th birthday.
“You are cordially invited to the 40th birthday party of Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson,” the invitation read.
Mr Phillipson said the event was organised “just before my 40th birthday” and was an opportunity to bring together journalists, educators, trade unionists and MPs “at a professional event in Westminster”.
She said the second event was a reception for journalists, “again in my role.”
Phillipson added that the donations were declared in accordance with regulations.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Duchess Victoria are among those to have received thousands of pounds worth of gifts, including clothing, from Sir Aly.
Following the criticism, a Downing Street source said on Friday that Sir Keir, Rayner and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves would no longer accept clothing donations.
But the row threatens to overshadow the party’s annual conference, which began in Liverpool on Sunday.
Labour MP Rachel Maskell, one of the most vocal opponents of the Government’s cuts to winter fuel allowances for all but the poorest pensioners, said she was “disgusted by the revelations about ‘donations'”.
She posted on X: “This goes against the values of the Labour Party, which was formed to fight for the needs of others, not our own. Meanwhile pensioners are at risk of having their winter fuel allowance withheld and shivering in the cold. I believe a conference vote will change this.”
Reporting a crack
Sir Keir also faces questions about whether there are tensions between his chief of staff, Sue Gray, and senior officials in Downing Street.
Earlier this week the BBC revealed that Mr Gray was paid more than the Prime Minister, sparking reports of rifts at the heart of government.
Mr Rayner denied reports of rifts in Downing Street as a “caricature”.
Asked if Mr Gray would still be in the job by Christmas, she said: “I’m sure he would. Sue Gray has done a fantastic job.”
Labour’s conference opened on Sunday with a speech from Ms Rayner, in which she recounted her own story as a teenage single mother and set out what she hopes to achieve in government.
“I was raised with a decent home, a stable job and the foundations of a strong community,” Rainer told the audience, reaffirming her commitment to new workers’ rights legislation.
The Deputy Prime Minister struck a typically cautious tone on the economic situation, comparing balancing ministry budgets to tough financial choices he has personally had to make in the past.
On housing, he promised to step up efforts to crack down on mouldy homes and extend that to private rented and public housing, and he repeated his promises to build more homes and speed up projects in urban areas.
She also peppered her speech with attacks on the Conservative party, saying it had left it to Labour to “clean up the mess”.
