KEIR Starmer has accepted more freebies than any other MP since the 2019 General Election.
The Labour leader has received £76,000 worth of entertainment, clothes, and similar gifts from UK donors over the last five years, the Financial Times has revealed.
The freebies included hospitality concert tickets, parties, royal boxes at sports games, hotel stays, and clothing, including more than 20 free tickets to go see football matches with some gifts also enjoyed by his staff.
MPs must declare any gifts, benefits, and hospitality from UK sources to the House of Commons Registers of Interests.
The benefits section of the register groups together gifts, such as tickets, with other categories of expense - international travel is excluded.
Starmer is predicted to become the next UK prime minister this week and he has vowed to “return politics to public service” after saying the UK has faced years of Conservative sleaze.
When approached about the freebies on Monday by the FT, Starmer said the transparency of the register meant that “everybody... can see who donated, what it was for, and how much it is, so you can ensure there’s no conflict of interest, as I would ensure there’s no conflict of interest.”
His spokesperson declined to comment further.
Some of the most generous gifts came from Waheed Alli, a Labour member of the House of Lords and former chair of online clothing retailer Asos, who gave Starmer £16,200 of “work clothing” this April.
He also gifted the Labour leader “multiple pairs of glasses” worth £2485.
Starmer has also taken several free tickets to watch Arsenal play in the Premier League from a variety of donors, including Champions League tickets to see them play against Porto, and tickets to go watch England play in the finals of the last Euros competition in 2021.
Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International, said: “Parliamentarians should ask themselves why they’re being indulged so generously, and what the hidden price tag may be, before accepting such gifts.”
Starmer also took four hospitality tickets worth £698 to see Coldplay perform at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester and then stayed overnight at a hotel to the tune of £937 thanks to a donation from businessman Matthew Moulding.
Other entertainment freebies included going to see Adele at Hyde Park, the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, two tickets to the royal box at Wimbledon, and four tickets to go see the play Nye at the National Theatre.
In comparison to when Jeremy Corbyn was the Labour leader, from 2015 to 2019, he only ever recorded a single £476 benefit which was a trip to the Glastonbury Festival in 2017 where he spoke on the Pyramid Stage.
Tory candidate Laurence Robertson was the MP who came closest to Starmer in terms of entertainment benefits, according to the findings.
He received more than £40,000 worth of days out from the racing and betting industries since 2019.
