Keir Starmer’s attendance at Arsenal football matches and Taylor Swift concerts is “part of the job”, the business secretary has said.
Jonathan Reynolds described the occasions for which Starmer had accepted tickets, including a Coldplay gig and football matches, as “major cultural, sporting events”.
The minister said he had “no problem” with politicians accepting gifts that can be of “a more personal nature” and noted hard-working politicians were entitled to “a bit of relaxation”.
Starmer has accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets during his time as Labour leader, mostly to football matches but also £4,000 of hospitality at a Taylor Swift concert and £698-worth of Coldplay tickets in Manchester.
He has also come under fire for the number of gifts accepted from Waheed Alli, who paid for work clothing worth £12,000, accommodation valued at more than £20,000 and glasses valued at £2,485. The donor was temporarily given a pass to No 10 after the election.
Reynolds told Times Radio that accepting hospitality “is not a perk of the job, it’s part of the job”. The cabinet minister said: “There’s always going to be the case where people in public life are invited to certain events. I can tell you, having been a secretary of state for two months, pretty much every working hour of it is spent working. And if people get the chance for a little bit of relaxation as part of that, again, I’ve no problem or objection to that.
“People want to engage with decision-makers. They want to ask you to be aware of what they are doing. Again, I think we have the right rules on transparency in relation to that. But this is about the job that we do and the need to be engaged with the sectors that we cover.”
On ministers receiving gifts while cutting fuel allowance to pensioners, Reynolds told Sky News: “The reason we’ve had to make some tough decisions already in the first two months is because there’s a big black hole in the public finances.
“I don’t think that is the same thing. I know Keir Starmer personally, I know how hard he works. If he’s going to a football match or anything, to give himself a little bit of a wider life experience and just working every second, again I don’t have any objections to that, as long as it’s transparent.”
Starmer has previously insisted his acceptance of hospitality is related to his security requirements of not being able to go into the stands, saying: “If I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game. You could say: ‘Well, bad luck.’ That’s why gifts have to be registered. But, you know, never going to an Arsenal game again because I can’t accept hospitality is pushing it a bit far.”
His acceptance of gifts drew criticism after the FT reported during the election he had taken £76,000 worth of hospitality and freebies. Since then, he has declared another £4,000 in Taylor Swift tickets and £20,000 of accommodation from Lord Alli.
This was mostly provided during the election campaign but also continued one week after he had become prime minister until 13 July. Former major party leaders have not declared as many free tickets and hospitality.
During David Cameron’s time as opposition party leader he declared one set of Rugby World Cup tickets, and being hosted at the Conservative party’s Black and White ball, along with various gifts of hampers and other treats. He also registered £4,475 of discounted personal training sessions.
