Who pays for the clothing of world leaders and their spouses?

Sir Keir Starmer and his woman Lady Victoria accepted donations of covering truthful they could "look their best" to correspond the UK, David Lammy has said.

Asked astir the donations, the overseas caput suggested different countries had generous taxpayer-funded budgets for leaders' clothing.

It came aft reports Sir Keir may person breached parliamentary rules successful failing to state apparel bought for his woman by Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli.

Lammy told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “US presidents and archetypal ladies person a immense budget, paid for by the taxpayer, truthful that they look their champion connected behalf of the US people."

In fact, the US archetypal woman does not person entree to a circumstantial covering fund - and galore person shared vexation astatine the outgo of staying fashionable successful the White House.

In immoderate countries, taxpayers lend to surviving expenses for their leaders - and this tin see clothing.

US presidents person an expenses fund of immoderate $50,000 (£38,000), which tin beryllium utilized to acquisition covering and different items, connected apical of an yearly wage of $400,000.

But the US president’s spouse - historically, ever a archetypal woman - does not person an yearly wage oregon fixed expenses budget, though they person paid unit and an office.

That's contempt the US archetypal lady’s manner choices attracting immense scrutiny and attention.

Notable examples person included Melania Trump’s Zara overgarment emblazoned with “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?”, connected a sojourn to a migrant detention centre, and the striking scarlet Alexander McQueen formal worn by Michelle Obama portion gathering erstwhile Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Some archetypal ladies person said that, successful general, they were expected to wage for their apparel themselves.

Mrs Bush, the woman of George W Bush, wrote successful her 2010 memoir that she was “amazed by the sheer fig of decorator apparel that I was expected to buy… to conscionable the manner expectations for a archetypal lady”.

“After our archetypal twelvemonth successful the White House, our accountant said to George, ‘It costs a batch to beryllium president,’ and helium was referring chiefly to my clothes,” Mrs Bush wrote.

Michelle Obama’s property secretary, Joanna Rosholm, told CNBC successful 2014: “Mrs Obama pays for her clothing.”

US archetypal ladies tin besides judge apparel arsenic gifts, often connected behalf of the government.

Some designers invited the publicity their apparel being worn by the archetypal woman offers them.

With the terms tags of decorator dresses easy moving into the tens of thousands, donations are the lone mode comparatively little affluent occupants of the White House could spend to deterioration prima designers.

“For authoritative events of nationalist oregon historical significance, specified arsenic a authorities visit, the archetypal lady’s apparel whitethorn beryllium fixed arsenic a acquisition by a decorator and accepted connected behalf of the U.S. government,” Mrs Rosholm said.

The Smithsonian Museum lists the formal existent archetypal woman Jill Biden wore astatine her husband’s 2021 inauguration arsenic a donation of decorator Alexandria O'Neil “in honour of archetypal woman Jill Biden” – an denotation the decorator lent her the dress.

By contrast, it appears that her predecessor Melania Trump, whose husband's wealthiness made him the richest president successful history, donated her inaugural dress, designed by Hervé Pierre, herself. That whitethorn beryllium due to the fact that she paid for it.

In the UK, Sarah Brown, woman of erstwhile premier curate Gordon Brown, has spoken of the difficulties astir accepting gifts - including covering - portion successful Downing Street.

"As I rapidly discover," she wrote successful her book. Behind the Black Door, successful 2011, "there is nary shortage of designers and retailers who volition connection you escaped clothes.

"However, determination are galore rules that govern what MPs (and spouses) tin bash with escaped gifts - not to notation the motivation facet of utilizing your presumption to drawback freebies.

She explained the solution: "No10 advisers and I fig retired a mode that works for everyone. Any apparel that I privation to keep, I tin buy.

"Any freely offered apparel oregon jewellery, I tin efficaciously ‘rent’ for astir 10 per cent of the retail value, past return."

Spouses of satellite leaders elsewhere mostly look to trust connected donations for their benignant choices.

France's Brigitte Macron does not person a state-funded fund for apparel and is believed to beryllium lent outfits by Parisian precocious manner houses specified arsenic Louis Vuitton.

According to the 2019 publication Madame La Présidente, her bureau keeps a grounds of which apparel person been donated to her and which are her own.

But her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, has been criticised for his ain profligate spending. This year, it was revealed that his bureau reserved a concern people spot connected a formation from Paris to Brazil solely to transport 2 of his suits, astatine a outgo of astir €4,000 (£3,380).

In Germany, ministers were criticised for spending €450,000 connected hairdressers, constitution artists and photographers successful the archetypal six months of 2023, though determination does not look to beryllium a circumstantial money for clothing.

Asked astir Lammy's remarks, a Foreign Office spokesperson declined to remark further.

Downing Street said of Sir Keir's declaration of covering donations: "We sought proposal from the authorities connected coming to office.

"We believed we had been compliant, however, pursuing further interrogation this month, we person declared further items."