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A minister has claimed accepting freebies in opposition is “different” from doing so in government as she attempted to explain why Sir Keir Starmer has paid back the value of some Taylor Swift tickets, but not thousands of pounds worth of other gifts.
Industry minister Sarah Jones suggested Sir Keir and other Labour frontbenchers were taking free tickets to concerts and festivals while in opposition to “build relationships” with businesses.
It included Sir Keir’s £2,800 trip to see Taylor Swift and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who accepted Glastonbury tickets worth more than £3,000 from Google.
But Ms Jones said: “There is a difference between government and opposition when you’re building relationships in opposition, it’s different for when you’re a government minister with real levers of power.”
Ms Jones was sent out …