World
UK PM Keir Starmer in hot water for accepting freebies, insists he’s done nothing wrong
Despite being in office less than three months, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already raised eyebrows for accepting donations in the form of clothes and other gifts from a wealthy businessman.
The Labour Party leader, who won power in a landslide victory on a promise to restore trust in politics, has denied any wrongdoing over thousands of pounds worth of clothes and eyeglasses paid for by Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and longtime donor to the party.
The headache for Starmer was compounded after a BBC report disclosed his chief of staff, Sue Gray, is paid 170,000 pounds, or $225,000, a year, which is about 3,000 pounds more than the prime minister’s salary.
A former senior civil servant, Gray is best known for leading an investigation into lockdown-breaching parties in government buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer listens to the speech of Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, England, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Gray’s findings helped take down Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and her subsequent move to work for Starmer led the Conservatives to claim the “partygate” probe was politically biased – something Gray has denied.
The Labour Party, meanwhile, has accused the Conservatives of whipping up a controversy to tarnish the government.
Lawmakers can accept gifts but must declare donations and extra-parliamentary income within 28 days — a deadline Starmer missed. He blamed the delay on his staff seeking advice on exactly what needed to be declared.
“I’m very consistent with following the rules,” Starmer said this week, rejecting suggestions that prime ministers should get a wardrobe budget.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers’ Questions session in parliament in London, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Starmer dismissed claims of dissent among his staff about Gray and her salary, insisting he’s “completely in control.”
“I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver,” he told the BBC on Thursday. “We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change, I am determined that we are going to do that.”
The scale of the freebies accepted by Starmer and his wife, Victoria, has perplexed even his supporters. Sky News reported that Starmer has declared “gifts, benefits and hospitality” worth more than 100,000 pounds since December 2019, more than any other lawmaker.
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The donations include thousands of pounds’ worth of tickets for Premier League games involving the prime minister’s beloved soccer team, Arsenal.
After controversy erupted, the Labour Party said Starmer won’t accept any more free outfits.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, second right, during a meeting with President Biden, centre left, in the Blue Room at the White House in Washington, Friday Sept. 13, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who also accepted donations to pay for clothing, told the BBC: “I get that people are angry [but] donations for gifts and hospitality and monetary donations have been a feature of our politics for a very long time.”
“People can look it up and see what people have had donations for, and the transparency is really important,” Rayner said.
Labour leaders are hoping that an annual four-day conference, which started on Sunday, will inject some badly needed morale for the party.
Fox News Digital has reached out to 10 Downing St. and Alli for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
new video loaded: Train Crashes Into Bangkok Traffic, Killing at Least 8 People
By Jorge Mitssunaga
May 16, 2026
World
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Central Africa a public health emergency after 80 suspected deaths
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The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
EBOLA OUTBREAK REPORTED IN AFRICAN COUNTRY — HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, on July 13, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
However, unlike Ebola-Zaire strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, which the WHO described as making the outbreak “extraordinary.”
The WHO warned the outbreak could be larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases.
The outbreak also poses a public health risk to other countries, the WHO said, urging nations to activate emergency-management systems and implement cross-border screening measures.
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Ambulances parked at Bunia General Referral Hospital following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks while announcing the release of $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee to review recommendations for how affected countries should respond.
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Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
The organization did not recommend border closures or travel restrictions.
Congo has now recorded 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Brittany Miller, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
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