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Sir Keir Starmer has paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since taking office, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.

Follow politics latest: Updates on freebies row

It follows weeks of criticism over Sir Keir and his top team accepting tens of thousands of pounds worth of freebies from wealthy donors.

While this has all been declared, opposition parties have accused Labour of hypocrisy, given they vowed to “clean up politics” if they entered government.

Sir Keir said it was “right” that he repaid the gifts while he fleshes out a new set of principles for governing donations, which currently rely on an individual’s judgment.

Speaking to reporters from Brussels, he said: “We came in as a government of change. We are now going to bring forward principles for donations because until now, politicians have used their best individual judgement on a case by case basis.”

He added: “I think we need some principles of general application. So I took the decision that until the principles are in place, it was right for me to make those repayments.”

Sir Keir has already said he will no longer accept donations to pay for clothes.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister has commissioned a new set of principles on gifts and hospitality to be published as part of the updated ministerial code.

“Ahead of the publication of the new code, the prime minister has paid for several entries on his own register. This will appear in the next register of members interests.”

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Gifts paid for by Sir Keir include four Taylor Swift tickets from Universal Music Group totalling £2,800, two from the Football Association at a cost of £598, and four to Doncaster Races from Arena Racing Corporation at £1,939.

An £839 clothing rental agreement with Edeline Lee, the designer recently worn by his wife to London Fashion Week, along with one hour of hair and make-up, was also covered by the prime minister.

However, Sir Keir has also accepted a further £6,134 in “clothing and personal support” for Lady Starmer in June, from prominent Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli, according to the latest register of interests published on Wednesday.

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‘All MPs take gifts and donations’

That is likely to come under scrutiny after it emerged that the Labour peer, and one of the party’s top donors, is facing a House of Lords investigation over “alleged non-registration of interests”, leading to a possible breach of the members’ code of conduct.

Sky News understands that the investigation doesn’t relate to donations but rather a clerical element of already declared interests.

Sir Keir also took £920 from Tottenham Hotspur stadium for two tickets to the north London derby in September, and £1,000 from Arsenal FC for a game in August, according to the register.

He has previously defended his decision to accept hospitality in order to attend football matches, citing security concerns which prevent him from watching from the stands without a large and expensive police presence.

The register also showed that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner declared £836 in hospitality as a “visit to (a) DJ booth” after she was seen partying in Ibiza.

The registration relates to a trip to a nightclub on the Spanish island, where the housing secretary was filmed dancing and being cheered on by the crowd over the summer.

The name of the donor listed on the latest register of interests is Ayita LLC.

Liam Conlon, the Labour MP and son of Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray, accepted two tickets to a Taylor Swift concert from the Premier League, the register shows.

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Ether may ‘struggle’ in 2025, SOL ETF odds rise, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Dec. 29 – Jan. 4

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Ether may ‘struggle’ in 2025, SOL ETF odds rise, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Dec. 29 – Jan. 4

VanEck researcher is optimistic of a spot SOL ETF listing in 2025, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleads not guilty: Hodler’s Digest

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Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton offers to probe Operation Chokepoint 2.0

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Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton offers to probe Operation Chokepoint 2.0

Not investigating Operation Chokepoint 2.0 would create a dangerous precedent where regulatory bodies can suppress whoever they disfavor, Deaton stressed.

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James McMurdock: Reform MP previously jailed for repeatedly kicking girlfriend questioned by Sky News at party conference

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James McMurdock: Reform MP previously jailed for repeatedly kicking girlfriend questioned by Sky News at party conference

Reform UK is a party that’s vying for attention and is not ashamed of how it gets it.

With political support from Elon Musk this week amplifying Reform UK talking points on his platform X, the party has been able to make a splash in the new year ahead of the government.

Already this month the party has had two conferences in two days, and with only a handful of MPs there is opportunity for all of them to speak. With one notable exception – James McMurdock MP.

Despite being the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, he isn’t on the schedule for the East of England conference, with Sky News initially told he wasn’t planning on attending.

Controversy has surrounded the politician since it was unveiled that he was jailed nearly two decades ago for repeatedly kicking his then girlfriend in 2006 while drunk outside a nightclub – something not made public when he was standing to be an MP.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and the new Reform MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, James McMurdock, pose for a photo during the inaugural match of East Thurrock CFC at Wyldecrest Sports Country Club, Corringham, Essex. Picture date: Saturday July 6, 2024.
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Mr McMurdock last summer. Pic: PA

When it emerged last July that he had been jailed for attacking someone, he downplayed the incident as a “teenage indiscretion”.

When spotted strolling around the conference on Saturday, Sky News asked Mr McMurdock whether he regretted that term.

The MP would not apologise for the phrase and said he hadn’t lied or ever changed his story.

“I would like to do my best to do as little harm to everyone else and at the same time accept that I was a bad person for a moment back then,” he said.

“I’m doing my best to manage the fact that something really regrettable did happen.”

Read more from Sky News:
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaking during the Reform UK East of England conference at Chelmsford City Racecourse. Picture date: Saturday January 4, 2025.
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Mr Farage speaking during Reform UK’s East of England conference on Saturday. Pic: PA

The MP also wouldn’t say whether the party knew about his conviction prior to becoming a candidate, but leader Nigel Farage has previously said he “wasn’t vetted”.

Mr McMurdock still has not been suspended for the conflicting accounts of what happened and the party hasn’t commented on whether he would pass their new vetting system which they say is now in place for new council candidates.

One Labour MP has urged parliament and the government to make mandatory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for any prospective parliamentary candidates in the future.

While speaking to Sky News, Mr McMurdock said he would support that motion, though no Reform MP voted for it in an early day motion when it was laid in parliament.

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