Keir Starmer is facing questions about whether his £35,000 of free tickets from football clubs risks a conflict of interest as his government prepares to bring in a new regulator opposed by the industry.
The prime minister has been under scrutiny for days over his more than £100,000 of freebies and gifts over the last parliament, with another £8,000-plus due to be registered for the free use of a box at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
He has also accepted £2,000 of free glasses, £16,000 of work clothes and use during the election of a £18m luxury penthouse flat from Labour donor Lord Alli.
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, insisted on Thursday that Starmer’s attendance at Arsenal football matches and Taylor Swift concerts was “part of the job”.
The cabinet 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 also defended the decision to accept a free box at Arsenal, saying it would save the taxpayer “a fortune” on security.
“Now I’m prime minister, the security advice is that I can’t go to the stands. Or if I did, you’d have to do so much to the security and it would cost the taxpayer a fortune as a result,” he told ITV London.
“I’ve been offered tickets elsewhere in the ground where it’s more secure. We don’t have to use taxpayer money on additional security. And that’s why I’ve taken the decision that I have.”
A large chunk of his free tickets have come from Premier League football clubs, many of whom are lobbying against the introduction of a football regulator first suggested under the fan-led review by Tracey Crouch.
Labour has said it will bring in a regulator, but rejected some elements of the review such as the idea of a 10% levy on Premier League transfers.
Starmer has strongly stood behind the plans for an independent regulator in the face of warnings from Uefa that the government interference in football could see England banned from European competitions.
However, he has also said he is willing to talk to Uefa about its concerns “to make sure that we can ensure that everything is possible”.
Caroline Dinenage, the incoming chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, and a former culture minister, said it was crucial for No 10 to be transparent over the football regulator laws.
“Everything the government does must not only be clear and transparent, but it must be seen to be clear and transparent,” she said. “Introducing a regulator and many of the recommendations of the fan-led review of football were driven by the need to protect the football pyramid and make sure the ecosystem that feeds those Premier League teams is working in a fair way that spreads the money and opportunity.
“The absolutely fundamental goal of the government must be to deliver a system that brings that to pass and addresses the inequality between the top flight teams and everyone else. It must have fundamentally the right intentions.”
Another Conservative MP, Ben Obese-Jecty, said: “Given Keir Starmer has received £12,588 worth of hospitality and freebies from the Premier League, and £35,792 worth of football tickets during the last parliament. In light of this, the decisions he takes on football governance should receive ‘forensic’ scrutiny.”
Starmer has also accepted free football tickets from businesses such as Tees Engineering and the construction firm Mulalley and Co – a company that was subject to an adverse £8m judgment to compensate for unsafe cladding after the Grenfell disaster.
Emma Dent Coad, the former Labour MP and a councillor in the Grenfell area, said Starmer’s decision to accept the tickets was “an insult” and it was not credible to claim that going to football matches was part of his job.
“It’s not ‘his job’ to go to a football match paid for by a company that didn’t remediate cladding. Where is this public service he keeps talking about? It’s self-service, rather than public service,” she said.
“Clearly he’s a football fan but it’s wearing. His first job is to serve the people who have been let down for 14 years. He can pay for his own football tickets. It’s such an insult for people who are literally scraping pennies together to feed their families, pay their bills and worrying about their winter fuel payments.”
Dent Coad said she had previously written formally to Starmer about the free tickets from Mulalley and got no response. Mulalley declined to comment on why they had provided the £700 of hospitality to Starmer in April 2023 to watch Arsenal v West Ham.