UK's ruling Labour Party rejects accusations of U.S. election interference
The U.K.'s ruling Labour Party has rejected accusations by former U.S. president Donald Trump's campaign team that the British party's members have interfered in the upcoming U.S. election.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign team on Monday accused the Labour Party of "blatant foreign interference" in the vote, after party volunteers travelled to several battleground states in the U.S. to help campaign for Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
"It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in U.S. elections. Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules," a Labour Party spokesperson said in emailed comments to CNBC.
The U.K.'s Prime Minister Keir Starmer also rejected accusations earlier on Wednesday during a visit to Samoa in the South Pacific.
"The Labour Party has volunteers, [they] have gone over pretty much every election," he said, according to the BBC.
"They're doing it in their spare time. They're doing it as volunteers. They're staying, I think, with other volunteers over there," he noted.
Asked if the row risked damaging his relationship with Donald Trump, the prime minister said "no," pointing to a dinner the two politicians enjoyed at Trump Tower in New York last month, the British public broadcaster reported.
Asked about the accusation in Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner on Wednesday told lawmakers that "people in their own time often go and campaign and that's what we've seen, it happens in all political parties, people go and campaign and they do what they want to do with their own money."
On Monday, Trump's campaign team filed a complaint with