Minister defends Keir Starmer accepting freebies and presents – ‘no objection’

A Cabinet Minister has insisted he has “no objection” with Keir Starmer accepting freebies.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds comments came after Sky News reported Mr Starmer received £107,145 in ticket and gifts, benefits and hospitality since becoming Labour Party leader. The figure is the highest of any MP and includes thousands in football tickets, including £6,000 on tickets for Arsenal matches, and £4,000 on Taylor Swift tickets during the General Election campaign.

Earlier this week the PM was also dragged into a row after it emerged Labour donor Lord Alli had paid for outfits for his wife Victoria which weren’t declared within 28 days. Mr Starmer said this came to light because he and his team are sticklers for the rules.

But speaking to Times Radio, Mr Reynolds said: “There are many ways that sponsors or supporters support politicians. Sometimes it’s with staffing costs, sometimes it’s with money for campaign literature, sometimes it’s more of a personal nature but I’ve no objection to that.

“Obviously we have rules about declarations and transparency in that regard and I think that is right. But I don’t have any objection to it, no.”

He added: “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.”

Mr Reynolds also claimed the freebies were not a “perk of the job”, adding: “It’s part of the job. 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.”

The Cabinet Minister was also grilled over whether he was “comfortable” defending the pay of Mr Starmer’s powerful aide, Sue Gray. On Wednesday a row broke out in government over the Prime Minister’s chief-of-staff pay packet of £170,000 – £3,000 more than Mr Starmer.

The BBC reported Ms Gray was alerted to the fact that her salary might make news. “It was suggested that she might want to go for a few thousand pounds less than the prime minister to avoid this very story,” a source told the broadcaster. “She declined.”

Mr Reynolds told Sky News that ministers have “no political input” into the pay of officials.

He added: “Sue Gray is getting on with the job of this Government delivering on our promises, I think that’s what matters more than anything else for anyone who works in Downing Street, and I can assure you that is exactly what is happening.”