Starmer accepted gifts worth £76k in last parliament - including tickets to TWENTY football games

Sir Keir Starmer accepted around £76,000 worth of hospitality, clothes and other gifts from donors during the course of the last parliament

PA
Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 02/07/2024

- 14:51

The sum is among the highest claimed by any MP in the last five years

Sir Keir Starmer accepted around £76,000 worth of hospitality, clothes and other gifts from donors during the course of the last parliament.

The donations accepted by the Labour leader include more than 20 tickets to football matches, as well as complimentary concert tickets and clothing.


An analysis by the Financial Times revealed that the sum is among the highest claimed by any MP in the last five years.

In April, Starmer was given £16,200 for "work clothing", as well as £2,485 for "multiple pairs of glasses" from Lord Alli, former chairman of Asos and a Labour peer.

\u200bSir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer accepted around £76,000 worth of hospitality, clothes and other gifts from donors during the course of the last parliament

PA

The Labour leader, who is a lifelong Arsenal fan, has recieved free tickets to watch his team play Manchester United, Manchester City and Porto.
The donations also included a free ticket to watch England play Italy in the 2020 Euro final.

He also attended an Adele concert at Hyde Park in 2022, as well as accepting four tickets to see Coldplay at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium last summer, worth £698.

Starmer has denied that there is a conflict of interest in accepting hospitality from the Premier League. This is despite it being opposed to some of Labour's plans to overhaul regulation in football.

Speaking on Monday, the Labour leader said: "That’s why we have a register of declarations for MPs, for exactly that reason.

"Everybody, yourself included, can see who donated, what it was for and how much it is, so that you can ensure there’s no conflict of interest, as I would ensure there’s no conflict of interest."

Starmer was found to have breached the MPs' code of conduct in 2022 in a "minor and/or inadvertent" manner, after failing to register eight interests before the deadline.

This included the use of a directors’ box at Crystal Palace Football Club, where the team was playing Arsenal.

The visit wasn't logged in the Register of Interests until May 5 2022.

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