THE JOKE’S ON YOU, SIR KEIR
His job is to hold ministers to account — and two days ago he savaged the PM for leaving meetings to pick wallpaper. So when Labour’s leader staged a woeful photo stunt at a John Lewis DIY counter, the response was universal...
SIR Keir Starmer was widely mocked and accused of ‘playing political games’ last night after staging a misjudged wallpaper stunt designed to capitalise on the No 10 decor row.
The Labour leader posed for pictures clutching a roll of wallpaper in a branch of John Lewis in Manchester.
It appeared to be a jibe at Boris Johnson, who is under fire over the wallpaper-gate row involving the expensive makeover of the Downing Street flat he shares with fiancee Carrie Symonds. The couple are said to have ordered the overhaul to remove all traces of the ‘John Lewis furniture nightmare’ left behind by Theresa May – a claim denied yesterday by the Prime Minister, who declared: ‘I love John Lewis.’
But Sir Keir’s stunt was at odds with his highminded attack on Mr Johnson just 24 hours earlier in which he accused the PM of ‘nipping out to choose wallpaper at £840 a roll’ when he should have been focusing on matters of state.
Former Conservative Cabinet minister Sir Alan Duncan said of the Labour leader: ‘Sir Clearly Startled – never knowingly underbold.
‘What a cheap trick. He’s more Bridget Jones than Peter Jones. A man seemingly in search of a roll when what he needs is a real role.’
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg mocked Sir Keir with a reference to a disastrous photo opportunity involving hapless former Labour leader Ed Miliband. He tweeted: ‘ Glad to see that the Leader of the Opposition is so busy – tomorrow he will be showing us how to eat a bacon sandwich.’
Tory party co- chairman Amanda Milling added: ‘When we say Labour are playing political games, this is exactly what we mean.’
The overhaul of the Downing Street flat, which is said to have cost a six-figure sum, saw Mrs May’s furnishings replaced in a revamp by trendy eco-designer Lulu Lytle. The department store itself made a subtle dig at the PM on Wednesday with a social media post in which it said it had ‘something for “almost” everyone’.
During a visit with Rishi Sunak to King Solomon Academy in west London yesterday, Mr Johnson was asked what was wrong with John Lewis. He replied ‘absolutely nothing’, adding: ‘I love John Lewis!’
No 10 confirmed that Mr Johnson was a fan of John Lewis but was unable to say when the PM last bought an item from the store. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case held talks with the daughter of a former Labour PM about joining a charitable trust to pay for the upkeep of No 10.
Margaret Jay, daughter of Jim Callaghan, revealed she had held secret talks with Britain’s top civil servant about the issue earlier this year.
Lady Jay told the BBC’s Newsnight programme that she was approached initially by prominent Tory donor Lord Brownlow, who is thought to have given the Conservatives £58,000 to cover the cost of redecorating the flat shared by Mr Johnson and Miss Symonds.
The revelation that Mr Case is working hand in glove with a donor who has given almost £3 million to the Tories is likely to raise eyebrows in Whitehall.
Lady Jay, a Labour peer, said Lord Brownlow, who she had never previously met, had approached her and asked if she would ‘like to become a trustee on the Downing Street Trust’.
She expressed initial interest after being told the trust would operate in a similar way to the body overseeing the upkeep of Chequers, and would not be involved in the maintenance of the PM’s living quarters. But Lady Jay said ‘nothing formal was ever agreed’, and declined to comment further yesterday.
The PM’s official spokesman said Mr Case had informed MPs on Monday that No 10 was examining the possibility of setting up a new trust.
MEANWHILE BORIS WAS AT WORK, TRYING TO SPOT STARMER’S SENSE OF HUMOUR