Deputy PM says MPs have been accepting donations for years as Labour conference opens in wake of controversies over freebies

• Starmer vows to protect public services from fresh austerity
• Labour heads to conference in a spin
• Interview: Starmer defends his record

Q: Will Sue Gray still be in her job at Christmas?

Rayner says she does not accept that way Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, is presented in the media. (Gray has been accused of holding up decisions in No 10.) Rayner says Gray has been “incredibly supportive” of ministers.

Angela Rayner appears to have breached parliamentary rules by failing to declare that a friend joined her on a “personal holiday” funded by Lord Alli, the multimillionaire peer at the heart of the Downing Street donor scandal.

The deputy prime minister did not report that Sam Tarry, then the Ilford South MP, stayed with her at a $2.5 million apartment in Manhattan over the festive period. He paid for flights but benefited from free accommodation.