Sir Keir Starmer needs to be more politically savvy following a row over donations, best-selling author and podcaster Jon Sopel has said.

The Prime Minister has faced weeks of criticism over gifts received from donors, including £32,000 worth of clothing from a Labour peer.

Mr Sopel, who was promoting his new book Strangeland - his personal exploration of post-Brexit Britain -  at an Aye Write event in Glasgow said the scandal showed the Prime Minister lacked "political nous", along with his predecessor Rishi Sunak.

MPs are allowed to accept gifts and Sir Keir has said no rules were broken. However, he said no further clothing donations would be accepted.

He has also paid back 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 clothing rental agreement with a designer used by his wife Victoria.

Mr Sopel, who presents chart-topping podcast The News Agents, told an audience at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow: "What was he doing accepting £32,000 worth of free clothes? He didn’t break any rules, everything was declared above board but what we’ve had with Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer are two politicians who are clever.

READ MORE: 

SNP: £4 million Labour election donation loophole must close

Taylor Swift and more: What is Keir Starmer paying back?

Campbell's concerns over Starmer's 'things can only get worse' speech

Jon Sopel to discuss new book at Aye Write chaired by Herald editor 

“Rishi Sunak is great with numbers and Starmer is a clever lawyer, but have got no political nous – and then to repay £6,000 of it.”

The political insider, who was formerly BBC's North America editor, was in conversation with The Herald editor Catherine Salmond to discuss how the UK had changed.

He returned to the UK in 2022 after eight years in the US and he found the country he returned to was very different following Britain’s exit 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 has come out and had a properly grown up conversation, he maybe overdid it but said ‘life is complicated, these things are going to take time to solve and there are no instant solutions’,” he said.

He added: “I think that Starmer is right to say that it’s complicated but my god the political nous is not there and the Downing Street operation needs to improve and improve quickly.

“I like the fact that Keir Starmer wants to get things done and isn’t interested in politicking. But you have to be politically savvy.”

He urged the Prime Minister to have “grown up conversations” about immigration following Brexit to stop the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party.

Mr Sopel recalled a pre-election conversation he had with a senior criminal lawyer who once worked with the now Prime Minister.

The lawyer, Mr Sopel said, pointed out Sir Keir was “really top notch” at the non-jury advocacy work.

Mr Sopel told the Glasgow audience: “I said stop, stop, stop, what do you mean non-jury advocacy? He said ‘well we’d never put him up before a jury. We’d put him before a judge to argue to technicalities of the law, but not in front of real people.”

READ MORE: 

Chancellor’s tough budget rhetoric may stall growth

Holyrood will not serve Scotland well until MSPs put the people first 

Voters blame Tories (closely followed by the SNP) for state of economy

In his book, Mr Sopel also discussed turning down an offer to replace Laura Kuenssberg and BBC political editor in February 2022.

His reasons stemmed from concerns from his family and a fear he would not be able to hold British prime ministers to account in the way he had former president Donald Trump.

It is “deeply problematic”, he said, the Sir Robbie Gibb who is an non-executive director of the BBC previously served as the 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 with former prime minister Boris Johnson.

And on how Scotland has changed since his return, Mr Sopel said: “I think that there’s not going to be a referendum any time soon.

“I think that the SNP has got serious problems and it’s been a catastrophic period.”