



Sir Keir Starmer's wife received £650 worth of Royal Ascot tickets just months after the Prime Minister was forced to hand back gifts.
In the latest in a catalogue of Labour freebies, Victoria Starmer attended the Berkshire racecourse in the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
The news broke after the Prime Minister updated his entry in the parliamentary Register of Members' Financial Interests to record that he accepted £650 worth of tickets.
The entry stated: "Name of donor: Ascot Authority (Holdings) Limited. Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Tickets and hospitality for three family members (value approximate), value £650."
PA
|Victoria Starmer attended Royal Ascot with free tickets
The Prime Minister did not join his wife at the King George Racing weekend event.
It is believed that he was preparing for his talks with US President Donald Trump in Scotland.
The latest freebie row comes just months after it was revealed that Starmer received more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality since entering No10.
The figure includes nearly £2,000 worth of tickets to Doncaster Racecourse and six tickets to see Taylor Swift.
Starmer has since paid back the sum, saying it was "right" for him to repay the cost of some gifts.
However, he is not the only one who has taken freebies, as nine other Labour MPs jumped on the Taylor Swift bandwagon, receiving tickets worth over £17,000.
Among those receiving top tickets were Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Asked about the gift at the time, Phillipson said: "I'll be honest, it was a hard one to turn down. I appreciate there was big demand for tickets, it was a privilege to be there.
GETTY |
Starmer previously took £6,000 worth of freebies when he came into
"One of my children was keen to go along; it's hard to say no if you are offered tickets in those circumstances."
When asked about the freebies, Starmer said his Government is bringing forward new principles for donations, "as until now politicians have used their best individual judgement to decide".
He said: "I took the decision that until those principles were in place it was right to repay these particular payments."
The Prime Minister also said that he will tighten ministerial hospitality and gifts rules.