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Sir Keir Starmer has defended accepting £76,000 value of free tickets and garments over the past parliament, saying a big chunk of it was from soccer video games exterior London the place his safety groups didn’t need him sitting within the stands.
The Monetary Occasions revealed the £76,000 determine on Monday, together with £16,200 of “work clothes” equipped by Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli, former chair of on-line vogue retailer Asos.
Starmer, a diehard fan of Arsenal soccer membership, advised journalists in Derbyshire on Tuesday that he declared all the presents he had taken whereas he was an MP within the Home of Commons register of pursuits.
“Various that was Arsenal hospitality and notably away video games the place you may respect my want to go within the stands will not be at all times met with approval by the safety groups round me,” he mentioned. “It signifies that I’m in company hospitality if I need to see the sport.”
About £23,000 of the declared presents had been tickets to Arsenal away matches, which had been the most typical class of things Starmer acquired, in accordance with the FT’s analysis.
He additionally accepted a ticket to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Video games, a rugby match at Saracens and two tickets to the royal field at Wimbledon.
Different junkets loved by Starmer have included live shows, akin to Adele at Hyde Park. In June 2023, Starmer took 4 hospitality tickets value £698 to see Coldplay on the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, earlier than staying at a lodge due to a donation from entrepreneur Matthew Moulding value £937.
The earlier August Starmer, who’s married with two youngsters, accepted lodging for 4 folks on the scenic Gower peninsula in Wales value £4,500 as a present from Crownhawk Properties, an organization based by Welsh entrepreneur Rod Lloyd.
MPs need to declare presents, advantages and hospitality from UK sources to the Home of Commons register of pursuits. The advantages part of the register teams collectively presents, akin to tickets, with different classes of expense. It excludes worldwide journey.
The MP who got here closest to Starmer when it comes to leisure advantages was Laurence Robertson, a Tory MP who acquired greater than £40,000 in days out from the racing and betting industries since 2019. The Betting and Gaming Council, for which Robertson has additionally labored, threw him a £2,300 reception to mark his birthday.
