Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Mr Sopel, who was promoting his new book Strangeland – his personal exploration of post-Brexit Britain – said at an Aye Write event in Glasgow that the scandal showed the Prime Minister had “no politics”, along with his predecessor Rishi Sunak.
MPs are allowed to accept gifts and Sir Keir has said that no rules were broken. However, he said further clothing donations would not be accepted.
He has also repaid more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since becoming Prime Minister, including the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four hospitality tickets to Doncaster Races and a clothes rental agreement with a designer used by his wife Victoria.
Mr Sopel, who presents the chart-topping podcast The News Agents, told an audience at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow: “What was he doing receiving £32,000 worth of free clothes? He didn’t break any rules, he everything has been declared above the table but what we have got with Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are two politicians who are clever.
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“Rishi Sunak is great with numbers and Starmer is a clever lawyer, but he doesn’t have a political reputation – and then to repay £6,000 of it.”
The political insider, who was formerly BBC North America editor, was chatting with Yr Herald editor Catherine Salmond to discuss how the UK had changed.
Sound check done with @jonsopel at the beautiful Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow at @AyeWrite. pic.twitter.com/4aVwz9TXqx
— Catherine Salmond (@SalmondSalmond) October 5, 2024
He returned to the UK in 2022 after eight years in the United States and found that the country he returned to was very different following Britain’s departure from the European Union.
Speaking in Glasgow on Saturday, Mr Sopel said Sir Keir had been able to have “grown-up conversations” about the state of the economy but said the Downing Street operation needed to improve “quickly”.
“I like the fact that Starmer came out and had a really grown up conversation, maybe he overdid it but said ‘life is complicated, these things are going to take time to “solved and there are no immediate answers,” he said.
He added: “I think Starmer is right to say it’s complicated but my God, the political nous isn’t there and the Downing Street operation needs to get better and get better fast.
“I like the fact that Keir Starmer wants to do things and is not interested in politics. But you have to be politically astute.”
He urged the Prime Minister to have “mature conversations” about immigration following Brexit in order to stop the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.
Mr Sopel remembered a conversation before the election he had with a senior criminal lawyer who once worked with the Prime Minister.
The lawyer, Mr Sopel, said Sir Keir was “first class” in non-jury advocacy work.
Mr Sopel told the Glasgow audience: “I said stop, stop, stop, what do you mean advocacy without a jury? He said ‘well we would never put it up to a jury. We would put him before a judge to argue the technical details of the law, but not in front of real people.”
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In his book, Mr Sopel also discussed rejecting an offer to replace Laura Kuenssberg and the BBC’s political editor in February 2022.
His reasons stemmed from concerns from his family and fear that he would not be able to hold British prime ministers to account in the way he had former president Donald Trump.
It is a “big problem”, said Sir Robbie Gibb, who is a non-executive director of the BBC, previously serving as director of communications at No 10 Downing Street.
The book, Strangeland, focuses heavily on the differences in politics in the US and the UK but compares Trump to former prime minister Boris Johnson.
And on how Scotland has changed since his return, Mr Sopel said: “I don’t think there will be a referendum anytime soon.
“I think the SNP has serious problems and it’s been a disastrous period.”
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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