Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in a ‘pressure job’ and should be allowed freebies, says minister
Sir Keir Starmer is in a “pressure” job and should be allowed to enjoy gifts and hospitality if it is declared correctly, a cabinet minister has told Sky News.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said anyone who is a prime minister “spends pretty much every bit of their waking life working on it” and if they are able to do something important to them “I don’t think that’s a problem”.
Politics Live: Anger as Starmer accepts thousands in gifts
It comes after Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project revealed Sir Keir has received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.
Since December 2019, he received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
The Premier League is one of the biggest donors of hospitality, and Sir Keir – a renowned Arsenal fan – has received almost £40,000 in tickets overall since December 2019.
Mr Reynolds said: “I think anyone who’s doing a job of the pressure, of the scale, of the importance that the prime minister does, spends pretty much every bit of their waking life working on it.
“And if they’ve got the chance for a little bit of time with family or something that’s important to them, in this case, lifelong support for a football team, I don’t think that’s a problem.”
He added people “would reasonably expect” prime ministers to sit in a directors’ box at a sporting event for security reasons.
Asked about accepting free tickets to concerts like Taylor Swift and Coldplay, he said: “These are major cultural, sporting events. I think it’s important people in public life have some connection to that.”
Sir Keir Starmer with wife Victoria at Taylor Swift’s Wembley gig. Pic: Keir Starmer/X
MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days.
The business secretary went on to say there are “clear rules” in place and he has “no objection to how the system works”.
Read more:
See how many gifts your MP declares
Our guide to exploring the Westminster Accounts
He added the government’s controversial decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for most pensioners should not be “conflated” with the prime minister accepting freebies.
“I think to conflate the two issues and forget the fact that there are major issues facing the UK that can only be addressed because we’ve got a change of government wouldn’t be right,” he said.
Labour MP brands Starmer an ‘ivory tower leader’ – is that the case?
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Sky News this morning gave a valiant attempt to explain, justify and defend the prime minister’s appetite for free gifts.
However, Reynolds decided to take a different approach to that of Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who on Sunday said that PMs and their spouses must look their best on the world stage and therefore accepting gifts of clothes was acceptable when there is no taxpayer funded budget for it.
Today, Reynolds’ excuse was that the prime minister works incredibly hard and deserves a “wider life experience” rather than simply working every second of the day.
But with allegations of a conflict of interest casting an ugly shadow over the PM’s appetite for free tickets to football matches while his government is considering implementing a football regulator – something that No 10 categorically denies – this story looks set to rumble on into Labour conference.
Speaking to Labour backbenchers, they are deeply frustrated with the way this story has been handled by Starmer’s top team.
One even accused Starmer of being an “ivory tower leader”, explaining the rhetoric of tough decisions on the economy – like cutting winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners – was jarring with the image of a prime minister enjoying over £100,000 worth of gifts since December 2019.
During the election campaign, Starmer branded himself as a man of the people while attacking Rishi Sunak for being “out of touch” with ordinary people.
Now Starmer is beginning to learn that branding yourself as holier-than-thou may not have been the genius political strategy it appeared to be three months ago.
Sir Keir defended his right to continue to take football freebies earlier this week, saying that because of security reasons: “If I don’t accept a gift of hospitality, I can’t go to a game.”
He is also under pressure after a report in the BBC claimed his chief of staff Sue Gray is paid more than £170,000, which is a higher salary than the prime minister is paid.
Mr Reynolds said the salaries of advisers “are not set by politicians” and “there’s an official process that does that”.
He added: “Sue Gray is getting on with the job of this government delivering on our promises, I think that’s what matters more than anything else for anyone who works in Downing Street, and I can assure you that is exactly what is happening.”
Politics
Laws may need to be bolstered to crack down on exploitation of child ‘influencers’, senior MP suggests
Laws may need to be strengthened to crack down on the exploitation of child “influencers”, a senior Labour MP has warned.
Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, technology and innovation committee, said parts of the Online Safety Act – passed in October 2023 – may already be “obsolete or inadequate”.
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Experts have raised concerns that there is a lack of provision in industry laws for children who earn money through brand collaborations on social media when compared to child actors and models.
This has led to some children advertising in their underwear on social media, one expert has claimed.
Those working in more traditional entertainment fields are safeguarded by performance laws, which strictly govern the hours a minor can work, the money they earn and who they are accompanied by.
The Child Influencer Project, which has curated the world’s first industry guidelines for the group, has warned of a “large gap in UK law” which is not sufficiently filled by new online safety legislation.
Official portrait of Chi Onwurah.
Pic: UK Parlimeant
The group’s research found that child influencers could be exposed to as many as 20 different risks of harm, including to dignity, identity, family life, education, and their health and safety.
Ms Onwurah told Sky News there needs to be a “much clearer understanding of the nature of child influencers ‘work’ and the legal and regulatory framework around it”.
She said: “The safety and welfare of children are at the heart of the Online Safety Act and rightly so.
“However, as we know in a number of areas the act may already be obsolete or inadequate due to the lack of foresight and rigour of the last government.”
Victoria Collins, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for science, innovation and technology, agreed that regulations “need to keep pace with the times”, with child influencers on social media “protected in the same way” as child actors or models.
“Liberal Democrats would welcome steps to strengthen the Online Safety Act on this front,” she added.
‘Something has to be done’
MPs warned in 2022 that the government should “urgently address the gap in UK child labour and performance regulation that is leaving child influencers without protection”.
They asked for new laws on working hours and conditions, a mandate for the protection of the child’s earnings, a right to erasure and to bring child labour arrangements under the oversight of local authorities.
However, Dr Francis Rees, the principal investigator for the Child Influencer Project, told Sky News that even after the implementation of the Online Safety Act, “there’s still a lot wanting”.
“Something has to be done to make brands more aware of their own duty of care towards kids in this arena,” she said.
Dr Rees added that achieving performances from children on social media “can involve extremely coercive and disruptive practices”.
“We simply have to do more to protect these children who have very little say or understanding of what is really happening. Most are left without a voice and without a choice.”
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The researcher pointed to one particular instance, in which children were advertising an underwear brand on social media.
She said: “The kids in the company’s own marketing material or their own media campaigns are either pulling up the band of the underwear underneath their clothing, or they’re holding the underwear up while they’re fully clothed.
“But whenever you look at any of the sponsored content produced by families with children – mum, dad, and child are in their underwear.”
Dr Rees said it is “night and day” in terms of how companies are behaving when they have responsibility for the material, versus “the lack of responsibility once they hand it over to parents with kids”.
One of Arizona’s crypto reserve bills has been passed by the House and is now one successful vote away from heading to the governor’s desk for official approval.
Arizona’s Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) was approved on April 17 by the House Committee of the Whole, which involves 60 House members weighing in on the bill before a third and final reading and a full floor vote.
SB 1373 seeks to establish a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund made up of digital assets seized through criminal proceedings to be managed by the state’s treasurer.
Arizona’s treasurer would be permitted to invest up to 10% of the fund’s total monies in any fiscal year in digital assets. The treasurer would also be able to loan the fund’s assets in order to increase returns, provided it doesn’t increase financial risks.
However, a Senate-approved SB 1373 may be set back by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who recently pledged to veto all bills until the legislature passes a bill for disability funding.
Hobbs also has a history of vetoing bills before the House and has vetoed 15 bills sent to her desk this week alone.
Arizona is the new leader in the state Bitcoin reserve race
SB 1373 has been passing through Arizona’s legislature alongside the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025), which only includes Bitcoin (BTC).
The bill proposes allowing Arizona’s treasury and state retirement system to invest up to 10% of the available funds into Bitcoin.
SB 1025 also passed Arizona’s House Committee of the Whole on April 1 and is awaiting a full floor vote.
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Utah passed Bitcoin legislation on March 7 but scrapped the cornerstone provision establishing the Bitcoin reserve in the final reading.
The Texas Senate passed a Bitcoin reserve bill on March 6, while a similar bill recently passed through New Hampshire’s House.
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Slovenia’s Finance Ministry is considering a possible 25% tax on crypto trading profits for residents in the country under a new draft law now open for public consultation.
The bill proposes to tax traders when they sell their cryptocurrency for fiat or pay for goods and services, but crypto-to-crypto and transfers between wallets owned by the same user will be exempt, Slovenia’s Finance Ministry said in an April 17 statement.
Under the proposed legislation, crypto tax will be aligned with existing tax laws. Slovenia taxpayers will be required to keep a record of all their transactions for annual tax returns. The tax base would be calculated on profits by subtracting the purchase price from the sale price.
In a statement to the Slovenia Times, finance minister Klemen Boštjančič said it’s unreasonable that crypto trading for individuals isn’t currently taxed in the country.
“The goal of taxation of crypto assets is not to generate tax revenue, but we find it illogical and unreasonable that one of the most speculative financial instruments is not taxed at all,” he said in a statement translated from Slovenian.
New tax could stifle crypto in Slovenia, lawmaker says
Jernej Vrtovec, a member of Slovenia’s national assembly and New Slovenia opposition party, slammed the proposal in an April 16 statement to X, arguing it could stifle crypto growth in the country.
“Slovenia has the opportunity to become a crypto-friendly country, but with the government’s proposals, we will miss the train again,” he said in a post also translated from Slovenian.
“With excessive taxation, we will once again see young people and capital fleeing abroad. Taxes should encourage, not stifle.”
The proposal is open to public consultation until May 5. If Slovenian lawmakers pass the bill, it will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Slovenia introduced a 10% tax on crypto withdrawals and payments in 2023, but capital gains from occasional crypto trading are not taxed, according to the crypto tax platform Token Tax.
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Crypto activity can also currently be exempt from tax if it’s considered a hobby. Business activity, such as mining or staking, is subject to income tax.
A previous bill proposed in April 2022 planned to levy a 5% tax on profits over 10,000 euros ($11,372), but it was never passed into law.
Slovenia issued the first digital sovereign bond in the European Union on July 25 last year. It had a nominal size of 30 million euros ($32.5 million) with a 3.65% coupon and a maturity date of Nov. 25 that year.
The number of crypto users in Slovenia is projected to reach roughly 98,000 in 2025, according to online data platform Statista, with a penetration rate of 4.6% among its population of 2.12 million people. While the projected revenue for the country’s crypto market is slated to hit $2.8 million.
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