The UK prime minister met Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, the ousted mayor of the city of Sylhet and a key party figure, at a dinner held by Labour party in December.
This has been published by the UK based news portal The Finacial Times.
The pair were photographed talking at the black-tie event held for Labour party backers.
The meeting was the culmination of decades of bridge-building between the Awami League and Labour that have helped the UK party win key parliamentary seats and make inroads with Britain’s Bangladeshi community.
However, corruption allegations levied against certain members of the former Bangladeshi ruling family have drawn in Starmer’s under-pressure City minister, Tulip Siddiq, and raised questions about the wisdom of the long-forged relationship between the two parties.