The NHS in Wales “desperately” needs reform, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said. Asked if Welsh Labour had run the health service well, he said “there are challenges… I’m not going to pretend to you otherwise”. His comments came on the day that waiting lists hit a record high in Wales for the sixth month in a row.

Keir Starmer has accepted gifts worth a total of $145,000 over the past five years, including $27,000 since July, when he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. According to Sky News, which analyzed the parliamentary register of interests,

Welsh Labour promised to “eliminate the use of private sector hospitals in Wales" but the PM is open to it to bring down waiting lists. | ITV News Wales

The Prime Minister has received more gifts and freebies than any other MP since he became Labour leader, it’s been revealed. A Sky News investigation found Sir Keir Starmer received two-and-a-half times more gifts and hospitality than the MP in second place,

Sir Keir Starmer initially failed to disclose he received £16,200 of free clothing from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli, in a move that risks fuelling the controversy around the prime minister’s acceptance of freebies.

Baroness Harman became the first senior party figure to publicly criticise the Prime Minister in the growing storm over his acceptance of more than £100,000 worth of gifts and hospitality.

The Labour Party leader, who won power in a landslide victory on July 4, denies impropriety over thousands of pounds (dollars) worth of clothes and eyeglasses paid for by Waheed Alli, a media entrepreneur and longtime Labour donor.

Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000-worth of gifts he has accepted.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he has “no problem” with ministers getting a “chance for a little bit of relaxation” as part of their jobs.