Starmer questioned over £20,000 gift to parents

Politics
28 Sep 2025 • 9:46 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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  • Sir Keir Starmer has denied allegations that he put a seven-acre field into a trust to avoid inheritance tax.
  • He purchased the land in 1996 for £20,000, intending it as a donkey sanctuary for his seriously ill mother.
  • Starmer explained that he “immediately gifted the land” to his parents so his mother could see the donkeys, but he retained the legal title.
  • He dismissed the idea of a 'complicated trust' for an agricultural field housing four donkeys, stating its sole purpose was for his mother's comfort.
  • The Prime Minister sold the Oxted, Surrey plot in 2022.

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