Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has sought to play down the significance of alleged interference by the Labour Party in the American presidential election.

The Trump Campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in Washington seeking an immediate investigation – after the Head of Operations for the Labour Party, Sofia Patel, posted on social media that she had “ten spots available” for anyone willing to travel to North Carolina to campaign for Kamala Harris, adding “we will sort your housing”.

She said she had around 100 current and former party staff heading to America before polling day.

The post, on LinkedIn, has since been deleted.

Foreign nationals are permitted to serve as volunteers on campaigns in the US as long as they are not compensated, according to Federal Election Commission rules.

The complaint from the Trump Campaign is both pointed and theatrical.

“When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them,” it read.

That is a matter-of-fact reference to US independence around 250 years ago.

On matters more contemporary it requests “an immediate investigation” into what it calls “blatant foreign interference”.

Speaking to reporters while flying to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa in the south Pacific, the prime minister said: “The Labour Party has volunteers, [they] have gone over pretty much every election.

“They’re doing it in their spare time. They’re doing it as volunteers. They’re staying I think with other volunteers over there.”

The Trump Campaign letter to the Federal Election Commission also says: “Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, and Matthew Doyle, director of communications, attended the (Democratic) convention in Chicago and met with Ms Harris’ campaign team.

“Deborah Mattinson, Sir Keir’s director of strategy, also went to Washington in September to brief Ms Harris’ presidential campaign on Labour’s election-winning approach.”

Ms Mattinson no longer works for the Labour Party.

Party sources say Mr Doyle and Mr McSweeney went to the Democratic Convention in their own time, and that the Democratic Party didn’t pay their travel and accommodation costs.

It isn’t clear who did.

Asked if the row risked jeopardising his relationship with Donald Trump, the prime minister said “no” – pointing to the dinner the two men had together at Trump Tower in New York last month.

“We established a good relationship. We’re grateful for him for making the time… for that dinner,” Sir Keir said.

“We had a good, constructive discussion and, of course as prime minister of the United Kingdom I will work with whoever the American people return as their President in their elections, which are very close now.”

Sir Keir has never met the Vice-President Harris, Trump’s Democratic rival.

But he has met President Biden several times since becoming prime minister in July.

BBC

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Donald Trump’s campaign has filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against the UK’s Labour Party, accusing it of “blatant foreign interference” in the US election in aid of the Harris-Walz campaign.

The complaint cites media reports about contact between Labour and the Harris campaign, as well as apparent volunteering efforts, arguing that this amounts to illegal “contributions”.

The BBC understands that Labour activists campaigning in the US presidential election are doing so in a personal capacity.

The Labour Party has not issued an official response.

Specifically, the complaint cites newspaper reporting that Labour-linked individuals have travelled to the US to campaign for Harris.

That reporting, the complaint alleges, creates a “reasonable inference that the Labour Party has made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions.”

The letter refers to Washington Post reporting that communications were exchanged between the parties and that senior officials have met in private.

Additionally, the complaint cites a social media post on LinkedIn in which a Labour staff member said that “nearly 100” current and former party members will be headed to battleground states in the US.

The post, from Labour Party head of operations Sofia Patel, added that 10 “spots” are available and that “we will sort your housing”.

It appears to have since been deleted.

The complaint makes comparisons to an international programme in 2016 in which the Australian Labor Party, or ALP, sent delegates to help with Bernie Sanders’ campaign.

In that instance, however, the ALP paid for flights and daily stipends. The party and the campaign were each handed down civil penalties of $14,500.

Labour activists’ trips were not organised or funded by the party, it is understood from party officials.

Foreign nationals are permitted to serve as campaign volunteers as long as they are not compensated, according to FEC rules.

It is considered normal for party officials from the UK to be in contact with counterparts in the US.

It also has taken place previously between the UK’s Conservative Party and US Republicans.

The BBC has contacted the Harris-Walz campaign for comment.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Russia is stepping up attacks on Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – delaying the export of agricultural produce, including aid intended for Palestinians caught up in the conflict with Israel.

During several days of strikes in early October, Russian weapons hit at least four cargo ships, including one reportedly carrying 6,000 tonnes of corn.

Sir Keir said that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was willing “to gamble on global food security in his attempts to force Ukraine into submission”.

The prime minister’s remarks came as he travels to the Pacific Island of Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government.

During several days of strikes, Russian missile strikes on the Odesa region hit a Panamanian-registered ship and a Palau-flagged cargo ship were also attacked, killing one person on-board.

Several people in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia were injured as 29 homes were destroyed and pictures released by regional officials show a giant crater in the mud, with bricks and wood strewn all around.

A wave of strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports coincided with a European tour by President Volodymyr Zelensky – who visited leaders in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin.

But Sir Keir pointed out the increasing number of Russian attacks coincided with harvest season.

Despite the war, Ukraine is still a significant supplier of agricultural goods.

But British intelligence suggests a growth in what officials call Russian “risk appetite” when attacking Ukrainian ports – with grain ships becoming what is described as “collateral damage” in Russia’s campaign.

Sir Keir said the “indiscriminate attacks” were “harming millions of vulnerable people across Africa, Asia and the Middle East”.

According to Ukrainian figures, more than 20 civilian ships have now been damaged in Russian attacks since the start of the war in 2022.

Grain silos and other port infrastructure have been badly damaged too.

However, Ukraine has succeeded in creating a maritime corridor to ensure the safety of grain exports, after Moscow pulled out of a Black Sea grain deal last year.

Some 962,000 tonnes of grain were exported in the first ten days of October, according to the agriculture ministry in Kyiv – double the volume shipped in the same period last year.

Speaking to journalists travelling with him to Samoa, Sir Keir said Russia’s recent recruitment of troops from North Korea was “an embarrassing and desperate act.

On Tuesday, the British government announced that it would give Ukraine an extra £2.26bn using the profits from Russian assets held in Europe.

The one-off payment is an addition to £3bn already pledged by the government to fund Ukraine’s war effort.

So far, the UK has given more than £12bn in military aid and has promised to match that level of support in the future.

Announcing the funding, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said it showed the UK’s support for Ukraine was “unwavering and will remain for as long as it takes”.

A dozen Labour MPs have joined a cross-party call for an “extreme wealth” tax in this month’s Budget.

The MPs have written to chancellor Rachel Reeves to demand a new 2% tax on assets worth more than £10m, which they claim could raise £24 billion per year.

The left wing Labour MPs and two Labour peers have joined forces with MPs suspended by Sir Keir Starmer, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, and former leader Jeremy Corybn, who was elected as an independent.

The call is also backed by the Greens, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP, Alliance and one Liberal Democrat MP.

The Labour Party has been asked for comment.

The chancellor is finalising details of her first Budget, to be announced on Wednesday 30 October. Government sources have told the BBC this will include tax rises and spending cuts to the value of £40bn.

In their letter to Reeves, the 30 MPs and peers say an extreme wealth tax is needed as billionaire wealth has increased by almost £150bn in only two years, between 2020 and 2022, but revenue from wealth taxes has remained stagnant at around 3.4%.

One of the MPs, Zarah Sultana, who represents Coventry South, flagged Oxfam research showing the richest 1% of Britons hold more wealth than 70% of the UK population.

“Austerity is, and always has been, a political choice,” she said. “It is grossly unfair that children and pensioners are being pushed into poverty while billionaire wealth continues to grow.

“We urgently need wealth taxes to rebalance power, fund essential public services and build a society where the needs of the many take precedence over the greed of a few.”

Reeves told the party’s autumn conference there would be “no return to austerity” under this government and promised a boost to government investment, designed to kickstart growth.

The MPs are also asking Reeves to equalise capital gains tax (CGT) and income tax rates in her budget.

They say this would “rectify unfairness in the tax system, where working people are subject to proportionately higher rates of tax”, and raise £16.7bn per year.

At the election, Labour promised not to increase taxes on “working people”, covering VAT (value added tax), income tax or National Insurance (NI), which limits the levers the chancellor can pull to bring cash in.

However, there has been speculation Reeves could increase CGT – charged on profits from the sale of assets like second homes – and also freeze the income tax threshold beyond 2028, potentially dragging more workers into the higher tax bands.

Sir Keir Starmer also did not rule out a National Insurance increase for employers in a BBC interview last week.

Reeves has already taken one unpopular decision, to remove winter fuel payments from 10m wealthier pensioners, which led to a rebellion by seven Labour MPs.

Sultana is one of five MPs who signed the wealth tax letter and who are currently suspended from the Labour Party for voting against the winter fuel payment cuts.

Some observers also wonder if the rebels, who were suspended for six months in July, may decide to team up with Corbyn’s independent group in January rather than re-join Labour.

The Labour rebels have teamed up with four of the smaller Westminster parties, including Wales’ Plaid Cymru and Northern Ireland’s SDLP and Alliance groups, plus all four Green Party MPs.

Green co-leader Carla Denyer called on Reeves to reconsider Labour’s decision to ditch its £28bn green investment pledge earlier this year, and invest more in public sevices.

“We cannot afford to have another government of spending cuts and economic hardship,” she said.

“Labour’s first Budget must take a resolute step to ensure that those with extreme, unprecedented levels of wealth help foot the bill.”