The storm of criticism which Sir Keir Starmer has attracted for accepting numerous gifts - including clothes for himself and his wife - prompted the following letter published in The Times on September 19.
Sir, A hundred years ago Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour prime minister, accepted a Daimler and £40,000 in company shares from a longstanding wealthy supporter. The donor wanted to make life easier for a man with little money. At the first hint of public criticism MacDonald returned the gifts. How sad that a century later a Labour leader (letters, Sep 17) should have sunk to the level of Boris Johnson.
Lord Lexden
Conservative Party historian
London SW1
