Five ministers in Boris Johnson’s government are being investigated by parliament’s sleaze watchdog over free tickets for this year’s Brit Awards.
International trade secretary Liz Truss, work and pensions secretary Thérèse Coffey and Foreign Office minister James Cleverly are among the senior Conservative MPs under scrutiny for allegedly failing to reveal they were given tickets worth up to £900 each.
Culture minister Caroline Dineage and science minister Amanda Solloway are also being probed by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over complementary tickets for May’s music industry bash.
In all eight MPs – including Tory backbencher Nickie Aiken and Labour MPs Conor McGinn, Chi Onwurah and Alex Sobel – will be investigated over whether they broke the code of conduct over the Brits tickets.
The rules require all MPs to update the register of members’ financial interests within 28 days of receiving any gifts, payments or hospitality.
Mr Cleverly, Mr McGinn, Ms Aiken all registered their tickets more than a month later, meaning they were technically in breach of the rules. But in the case of the other MPs, the freebies have yet to appear on the register of interests.
Ms Onwurah told The Mail she had already apologised for her failure to declare the tickets, saying: “It was an administrative oversight, nothing more, and it has now been declared.”
An unnamed MP told the newspaper they had “held their hands up” after realising the declaration was late and admitted: ‘It’s just embarrassing.”
The Brit Awards took place on 11 May, when strict Covid restrictions were still in place. But around 4,000 spectators were allowed into London’s O2 Arena to watch Sir Dua Lipa and Sir Elton John as one the government’s pilot scheme events.
Ms Aiken’s ticket was worth £900 and was paid for by UK Music Ltd, while Mr Cleverly’s £850 ticket was given to him by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
It emerged last month that MPs enjoyed free tickets worth more than £100,000 for major sports and music events this summer, as they took advantage of the pilot scheme for the return of large events.
Dozens of MPs took up free tickets to the Euro 2020 matches at Wembley, the England versus Pakistan cricket tie, Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix.
Campaigners highlighted the many of the free tickets handed to MPs came from gambling companies. Defence minister Ben Wallace received a ticket and hospitality for the England-Denmark Euros semi-final worth almost £3,500 from Entain Operations Ltd.
Matt Zarb-Cousin, director of the Clean Up Gambling campaign, said the industry appeared to have used sporting events as “an excuse for wining and dining MPs” ahead of a review of the Gambling Act, as the government considers further restrictions on advertising.
A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council, the industry body, said: “The regulated betting and gaming industry supports a range of sports, including football, and this funding has proved vital during the pandemic. All hospitality is within the rules and fully declared.”
