Keir Starmer defends corporate seats for Arsenal games

News of Sir Keir’s decision to accept hospitality from Arsenal comes amid renewed scrutiny of the gifts and hospitality he has accepted.

The prime minister has faced criticism for missing a deadline to declare clothes gifted to his wife by Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli, only doing so more recently following “further advice” on the declaration rules.

Lord Alli was also at the centre of a row last month, after it emerged he had been given a temporary Downing Street pass.

The TV executive, a regular Labour donor, has also bought clothes and glasses for Sir Keir, according to the prime minister’s parliamentary declarations.

Records show he has accepted tens of thousands of pounds in gifts, hospitality and tickets to events since becoming Labour leader, including nearly £66,000 over the last year.

This includes £20,437 from Lord Alli for accommodation, along with £16,200 in clothes and “multiple pairs of glasses” worth a total of £2,485.

He also declared four tickets worth £4,000 from the Premier League for a Taylor Swift concert, where he was pictured alongside his wife.

Although Sir Keir is far from the only MP to have accepted freebies, former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman said his decision to accept so many gifts was a “misstep”, and his decision to justify it was “making things worse”.

“I don’t think he should do sackcloth and ashes, I think that’s overdoing it,” she told a Sky News podcast.

“He just needs to say ‘with hindsight, I’m going to do things differently’,” she said.