Priti Patel attended the James Bond premiere in London last year as it was "connected" to her role as Home Secretary, a Tory minister has claimed.
Ms Patel accepted comp tickets, potentially worth thousands of pounds, to attend the premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in September. In a debate about why MPs accept hospitality and how they declare it, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis justified Ms Patel's attendance.
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Asked how James Bond related to Ms Patel's role as a minister, or indeed as an MP, Mr Ellis said: "Well, the nature of the film, one could argue, is connected to executive functions." Standards Committee Chairman Chris Bryant, fighting back laughter, interrupted asking: "What?!"
Mr Bryant went on to pose the same question about Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who also attended the premiere. Mr Ellis said "it's clear" why she attended.
Mr Bryant: "So what, because Bond travels abroad and she's in charge with MI6?" Mr Ellis explained that the tickets had been declared in the proper way.
In the same hearing, Commons leader Mark Spencer, who has been an MP for 12 years, revealed that he had never read the Seven Principles of Public Life, which governs MPs behaviour, in detail. He said: "I don't need anyone to write down for me what selflessness means, what accountability means, I know that."
