Keir Starmer UN Speech - LIVE: PM defends claims he used donor’s £18m penthouse in Covid work from home plea

Sir Keir Starmer has defended borrowing an £18m penthouse flat from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli during the general election.

The prime minister suggested he took the donation for accommodation because his son needed somewhere to revise for his GCSEs.

He has also been accused of using the flat to shot a video urging Britain to work from home during Covid.

As the donations row continues, Sir Keir prepares to deliver a speech to world leaders at the UN General Assembly as part of his visit to New York.

He will use his speech today to say that the UK is returning to “responsible global leadership” because it is in British interests to address problems around the world.

The gathering comes as the Middle East teeters on the brink of all-out conflict and the bloody war in Ukraine grinds on.

It follows an intervention at the UN Security Council where he tore into Russia over its actions in Ukraine, saying Vladimir Putin was treating his own citizens as “bits of meat to fling into the grinder” in the conflict.

In London, defence secretary John Healey will host Australian and US counterparts to discuss a deal to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

A £10 billion US investment in a new artificial intelligence data centre will create 4,000 jobs in the UK, the Government has announced.

The deal with private equity giant Blackstone will create Europe’s biggest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.

Sir Keir Starmer, who is in New York attempting to woo US bosses, said the investment showed the UK is “open for business”.

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The deal with private equity giant Blackstone will create Europe’s biggest AI data centre in Blyth, Northumberland.

Defence secretary John Healey will meet his