Starmer pays back £6,000 of gifts in third attempt to close down freebies row

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Sir Keir Starmer has paid back £6,000 in gifts and hospitality as the so-called “freebies row” threatens to spiral out of control and plunge his government into chaos. And while Sir Keir was trying to end the criticism and get his government back on track, the row appeared to intensify as it was revealed that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner received £836 worth of hospitality while partying in Ibiza. This will appear in the next register of members’ interests.” Gifts paid for by Sir Keir include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group totalling £2,800, two from the Football Association at a cost of £598, and four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939. Another £1,660 worth of tickets to a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley Stadium accepted from the Premier League by Liam Conlon, Labour MP and son of Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, in August.