More than 100 MPs have enjoyed free hospitality to concerts and sporting events worth more than £180,000 this summer, with tickets given away by banks, oil companies, the gambling industry and media firms. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, and the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, are among those who have benefited from a growing trend for politicians accepting giveaways. Critics said the free tickets could leave MPs open to influence from the companies providing benefits, and questioned whether it was appropriate in a cost of living crisis to be taking thousands of pounds in hospitality not available to ordinary members of the public. Several ministers have been hosted for nothing by companies. Hunt was taken to the Chelsea flower show by Lloyds Banking Group in a benefit worth more than £600, as well as accepting theatre and opera tickets. Paul Scully, a science and technology minister, accepted £1,100 worth of tickets to a Billy Joel concert from the Betting and Gaming Council, and Wimbledon hospitality to the tune of £1,560 from the oil and gas company, BP, while Andrew Griffith, a Treasury minister, accepted a £400 ticket to the Ashes and £2,000 of hospitality at Silverstone from his former employer, Sky. Dowden declared five sets of free tickets including a £1,210 trip to the Chelsea flower show courtesy of Fenchurch Advisory, an investment firm run by Tory donor Malik Karim, as well as trips to Ascot, the Royal Opera House and Formula One. From Labour, Starmer was given tickets to a Coldplay concert in Manchester worth £698 by a concert promoter, while the Jockey Club gave him a box and hospitality at the Epsom Derby worth £3,716. Other shadow cabinet ministers to accept free tickets include Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, who was given hospitality worth £1,050 at Hay festival courtesy of the broadcaster Sky and £600 worth of tickets to the opera at Glyndebourne by a lobbying and public affairs company, FGS Global. Tulip Siddiq, a shadow Treasury minister, was taken to the Chelsea flower show by Lloyds Banking Group, with tickets worth £370. At least 18 MPs were given free tickets to Glastonbury, with five paid for by the tech giant Google, including Laura Trott, a work and pensions minister, and Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary who took more than £3,000 of hospitality each. The total of £180,000 of hospitality since late May could be an underestimate. This year a Tory MP, Scott Benton, was filmed by undercover journalists talking of how MPs can get around the hospitality rules by accepting tickets worth just under the £300 limit for declarations. “You’d be amazed at the number of times I’ve been to races and the ticket comes to £295,” he said, according to a report published by the Times. An investigation by the Mirror last summer found that MPs accepted tickets to concerts and sporting events worth more than £82,000 in two months. In 2021, MPs accepted free tickets worth more than £100,000 as they took advantage of the government’s Covid pilot scheme for large events.
Accepting hospitality is not against the rules for MPs, provided it is declared within 28 days in the House of Commons register of interest if it totals more than £300. Under rules brought in at the start of March, MPs can no longer participate in debates or table questions if their actions would directly financially benefit a company that has given them more than £300 of hospitality. There are different rules governing ministers. If the hospitality is relevant to their jobs, they only have to declare it through the government log of hospitality on a more infrequent basis and without specifying the amount it cost. Alex Beatty, of Spotlight on Corruption, said: “With the UK in the grip of a cost of living crisis and at a time of declining trust in our politicians, it is both disappointing and concerning to see this sharp increase in the value of hospitality accepted by MPs. “Hospitality enables private interests with the deepest pockets to access and potentially influence MPs and ministers. This can undermine the quality and integrity of decision-making away from the public interest and towards whichever company forked out for the strawberries and cream.” Rose Whiffen, from Transparency International UK, said: “When parliamentarians are offered gifts and hospitality from private companies, they should ask themselves what the motivation behind this is. “Private companies may use sporting and other events as opportunities to ingratiate themselves with parliamentarians and bend parliamentarians’ ears. “Unfortunately, interactions at social occasions between ministers and outside interests rarely see the light of day, owing to limited rules around lobbying. In order to ensure that lobbying no longer happens behind closed doors, the government must update the rules to address the informal lobbying loophole.” Responding on behalf of the ministers, the Cabinet Office said: “This government is committed to transparency, which is why we’ve made crucial reforms and publish more than ever before.” It said parliament decides the code of conduct for MPs, setting out what lawmakers must declare. Scully said: “All engagements have been registered in accordance with the rules which exist to offer transparency about hospitality and meetings. None of the engagements listed related to my ministerial responsibilities.” A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council said: “Any hospitality is consistent with the parliamentary rules and is fully declared and transparent.” BP said it had hosted three MPs at tennis events. “We believe that it is important to talk to a range of stakeholders about BP’s business and projects and occasions like Wimbledon provide opportunities to convene interesting groups together at the same time,” a spokesperson said. Labour has been approached for comment. MPs and their freebies Listed below are some of the MPs who have received summer hospitality: Jeremy Hunt, chancellor: £600 Chelsea flower show visit from Lloyds Banking Group, plus theatre and opera tickets. Oliver Dowden, deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office minister: £1,210 Chelsea flower show hospitality from Fenchurch Advisory, plus trips to Ascot, the Royal Opera House and Formula One. Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party: £3,716 Epsom Derby box and hospitality from the Jockey Club, plus £698 Coldplay concert tickets in Manchester. Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary: £1,050 Hay festival hospitality from Sky. £600 Glyndebourne tickets from FGS Global. Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the Treasury: £2,000 of hospitality at Silverstone from Sky; £400 ticket to the Ashes. Laura Trott, pensions and financial inclusion minister: free tickets and hospitality at Glastonbury worth more than £3,000 from Google. Paul Scully, science and technology minister: £1,560 of Wimbledon hospitality from BP and £1,100 Billy Joel concert tickets from the Betting and Gaming Council. Tulip Siddiq, shadow economic secretary to the Treasury: £370 Chelsea flower show tickets from Lloyds Banking Group. Jonathan Reynolds, shadow business secretary: £3,000 worth of Glastonbury tickets and hospitality from Google.