The 59-year-old businessman Waheed Alli, who made his fortune in media, was little known to the general public until he became implicated in the growing row involving the substantial number of free gifts and donations that in recent months, the Labour prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and some of his ministers have seen fit to accept. Born in the UK, Alli's parents were originally from French Guiana on his father's side (a mechanic) and from Trinidad and Tobago on his mother's (a nurse). He left school at 16, and 15 years later he was already a millionaire and a member of the House of Lords. Close to the Labour leadership for three decades, the peer, who is an openly gay Muslim is also a long-standing defender of LGBTQ rights.

In September, the British media stepped up revelations about Lord Alli's profligate donations. Between 2019 and June 2024, he gave over £600,000 (€717,000) to the Labour Party, which included £100,000 to the opposition leader, who assumed office in July. Starmer used the money to renew his wardrobe and that of his wife, to change his glasses and to house one of his children in central London. Other government officials, such as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Liam Conlon MP, son of the former chief of staff Sue Gray, have also benefitted from Alli's largesse. At the end of August, The Times further revealed that Alli had been issued with a pass giving him free access to Downing Street – an unprecedented favor that was withdrawn when the scandal broke.

In light of Starmer's announcement to the British people of a "painful" autumn budget, including the abolition of an allowance that helps 11 million pensioners pay their energy bills, Alli's all-out gifts have shocked the public. However, there is no evidence that Starmer has breached parliamentary rules, which set no limit on donations to political parties or individuals, provided they are officially declared. Yet experts and journalists are wondering whether it isn't time to ban gifts altogether. To a lesser extent, the affair is reminiscent of the excessive expenses scandal that rocked Westminster in the late 2000s, which led to the resignation of many MPs from both parties and the introduction of transparency.

While Waheed Alli is the subject of an internal investigation by the House of Lords, the press and right-wing MPs are having a field day with the scandal and accusing Starmer of doublespeak, when during his campaign he castigated the "corruption" of successive Conservative governments. For years, the Tories have accepted donations from Britons linked to the Russian oligarchy. The former prime minister Boris Johnson didn't refuse free gifts either. They enabled him, among other expenses, to finance the decoration of his official Downing Street apartment, and part of his wedding to Carrie Symonds in 2021.