GARY Neville has defended Sir Keir Starmer for accepting tens of thousands of pounds worth of free tickets to Premier League matches.
The former England ace claimed criticism of the freebie fanatic PM was “absolutely incredible”. Figures show the PM, an avid Arsenal fan, has declared more than £100,000 of gifts and hospitality since becoming Labour leader in 2020.
This is more than any other major party leader in recent times, with the bulk of it being football tickets. Labour supporter Neville defended him over the scandal, slamming what he called the “absolute cronyism” under the last Tory government.
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He told a Labour Party conference fringe event: “I’m struggling with the free football tickets one quite a bit, to be honest with you, when I look at the absolute corruption we’ve seen in the last five, six, seven, eight years with people getting billions of pounds worth of contracts in VIP lanes.
“Keir Starmer’s paid for his season ticket to go with his family to watch Arsenal all his life and he’s now being told he can’t go to that same seat, when I’m sure he would – you know he would, everybody knows he would – he’s been told he’s got to go in a hospitality box, a private box.
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“To be fair, a lot of the people complaining about him will end up in those types of boxes themselves, including myself at times.” The pundit, an ex-Manchester United star, said: “I find it absolutely incredible that this level of attention is now being paid to a Labour Prime Minister when I look at the absolute cronyism we watched for years under that lot.”
Bookmaker Coral has cut the odds on him becoming an MP in the future from 20-1 to just 8-1. The firm makes him 12-1 to become the next mayor of Manchester and 100-1 to be the PM in the future.
Spokesman John Hill said: “Stranger things have happened around the world in the last few years.”
Earlier this year Neville filmed an election broadcast featuring Labour leader Starmer in June. Sir Keir made pledges for the country and talked about his special childhood memories of the Lake District to football icon Neville.
Walking in the fells, Neville heard from Sir Keir how he he believe his Labour Party will deliver change for the country. The Labour leader outlined his first steps and immediate priorities.