Keir Starmer receiving £100k in freebies 'part of the job', says Labour minister

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he has “no problem” with ministers getting a “chance for a little bit of relaxation” as part of their jobs.

Keir Starmer receiving £100,000 worth of freebies is just "part of the job", a senior Labour minister has claimed.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he has “no problem” with ministers getting a “chance for a little bit of relaxation” as part of their jobs.

The SNP dubbed Starmer "the king of freebies" after it emerged he has received more gifts and tickets than any other party leader in recent history. But Reynolds denied it was a perk.

The Labour minister told Times Radio: “It’s not a perk of the job, 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.”

He added that he had spent “pretty much every hour” working since becoming a secretary of state, “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”.

Starmer has accepted almost 40 sets of free tickets in his four and a half years as Labour leader.

These have mostly been for football matches, but also include a £4,000 hospitality package at a Taylor Swift concert and £698 of Coldplay tickets in Manchester.

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He has also been criticised for receiving gifts from Labour donor Waheed Alli.

The peer paid for £12,000 of work clothing, more than £20,000 of accommodation and £2,485 for glasses.

Starmer was slammed after Alli was given a temporary Downing Street pass after the election.

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