Will the Cabinet pay back freebies after Keir Starmer U-turn?

Cabinet ministers are facing questions about whether they will return freebies today after Keir Starmer's dramatic U-turn.

The PM abruptly announced last night that he was paying back more than £6,000 worth of gifts - including Taylor Swift tickets and a clothing deal for his wife - in a bid to quell a furious backlash.

Sir Keir is covering the £3,398 cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by Lady Victoria Starmer.

The move came after he was dubbed 'free gear Keir' over his frequent acceptance of lavish gifts and hospitality, which has continued since he entered Downing Street in July.

A YouGov poll released this evening found 79 per cent of Brits though he was right to volte face, while just 6 per cent said he was wrong and 14 per cent were unsure. 

The PM has now committed to overhauling rules for ministers to ensure better transparency about what is provided. He had already promised not to take any donations for clothes, with Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves making the same commitment. 

But it is far from clear what the arrangements will be - effectively leaving colleagues in limbo.

What Cabinet ministers might be under pressure to repay gifts? 

DAVID LAMMY

Five tickets with the use of a hospitality box to see Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal, September 15 2024

Value: £2,300

BRIDGET PHILLIPSON

Two tickets for the Royal Box at Wimbledon, July 13 2024

Value: £1,060

Two tickets and hospitality for the Taylor Swift concert, August 15 2024

Value: £522.54

LUCY POWELL

Two tickets and hospitality for the Ashes at Lord's, August 30 2024

(England were playing Sri Lanka on the date despite reference to Ashes) 

Value: £600

ANGELA RAYNER

Visit to DJ booth in Ibiza, August 28 2024

Value: £836

STEVE REED

Two tickets to Kylie Minogue concert in Hyde Park, July 13 2024

Value: £583.25

WES STREETING

Four tickets and hospitality for Taylor Swift concert, August 15 2024

Value: £1,160

Sir Keir's statement that he will repay some gifts - although not others, such as corporate hospitality for watching his beloved Arsenal - coincided with the publication of an update to the MPs' register of interests.

Other senior ministers are potentially under pressure to follow suit over gifts taken since entering government, even though they did not break rules.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was recently grilled over accepting two free tickets for a Taylor Swift concert, explaining it had been 'hard' to reject them because her daughter wanted to go.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has declared four tickets and hospitality for a Swift gig. 

The latest MPs' register showed that Angela Rayner's recent high-profile appearance in a DJ booth on a holiday to Ibiza was worth £836.

It is understood she paid for accommodation and flights herself, there was no physical ticket to get into the booth and Ms Rayner declared the highest possible value.

The DJ was described as a personal friend of Ms Rayner, and allies insisted she did not need to declare the gift but had done so for full transparency.  

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has received tickets to see Tottenham Hotspur, while Environment Secretary Steve Reed had a freebie to see Kylie Minogue in concert. 

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray refused to say today whether he will return the cash that paid for his VIP visit to a Premier League football match.

Mr Murray and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar were treated to free hospitality at Anfield last week for the Liverpool v Bournemouth game.

But asked by PA News whether he would repay the freebie, from Salmon Scotland, Mr Murray refused to answer at least three times.

Touring broadcast studios this morning, business minister Sarah Jones tried to play down the issues stressing that no rules had been broken.

However, she admitted she was looking at whether she should repay a free ticket to the Proms received from the BBC.

Gifts paid for by Sir Keir include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group totalling £2,800 and two from the Football Association at a cost of £598 as well as four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939.

An £839 clothing rental agreement with Edeline Lee, the designer recently worn by his wife to London Fashion Week, along with one hour of hair and makeup, was also covered by the PM.

Sir Keir said yesterday that it was 'right' for him to repay the donations while new principles for accepting gifts were drawn up.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, the PM said: 'We came in as a Government of change.

'We are now going to bring forward principles for donations, because, until now, politicians have used their best individual judgment on a case-by-case basis.

'I think we need some principles of general application. So, I took the position that until the principles are in place it was right for me to make those repayments.'

Pressed on whether the repayments were an 'admission' that he was wrong to accept the freebies, he said: 'I can't say more about it.' Asked a third time, he said: 'I can't add anything more to what I've said.' 

A Downing Street spokesperson said: 'The PM has commissioned a new set of principles on gifts and hospitality to be published as part of the updated ministerial code.

'Ahead of the publication of the new code, the PM has paid for several entries on his own register. This will appear in the next register of members' interests.'

The update to Sir Keir's register of interests revealed he accepted a further £6,134 from Lord Alli in 'clothing and personal support' for Lady Starmer in June.

He also took £920 from Tottenham Hotspur stadium for two tickets to the north London derby in September, and £1,000 from Arsenal FC for a game in August.

The PM has previously defended his decision to accept hospitality in order to attend football matches, citing security concerns which prevent him from watching from the stands without an expensive police presence.

Ms Jones told Times Radio this morning: 'If I looked at me being an MP for seven years, been to three events – one Selhurst Park, one the Capital Radio Summertime Ball which the owners LBC invited me to, and one was to the Proms.

'From a perspective of did I declare everything, was I doing this loads of times, was I kind of out and all the time taking freebies, was I giving anybody anything for these things? It was all completely above board.

'But if I look at it through the lens that the public is now looking at it and the question we're talking about, for what purpose I'm going to those events, I'm not going to go to another event like that that I'm invited to.'

Asked if she will pay it back, Ms Jones replied: 'I'm not sure I could but I will certainly look at that, yeah. The issue of the Proms that I've been to, I am just investigating whether I could pay that back.'