Labour chief of staff among several others to benefit from ‘freebies’, including Prime Minister’s wife
Sue Gray enjoyed hundreds of pounds worth of Premier League hospitality tickets and a free trip to a networking summit in the Highlands, The Telegraph can reveal.
Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff received matchday hospitality tickets to the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April and another Premier League football match at the same venue a month before.
She is among several top Labour staffers to benefit from “freebies” with others accepting free tickets to the Wimbledon Ladies final, the Brit Awards, and other top-flight football matches.
The Prime Minister is battling a growing scandal over donations and gifts after it emerged Lady Starmer received thousands of pounds in clothes from Lord Alli, the Labour peer and donor.
The peer also loaned Sir Keir the use of an £18 million penthouse where he watched election night. He also gave Labour the use of a Soho townhouse worth £4 million for strategy meetings.
The Georgian property in central London was used by senior aides and shadow ministers, including Pat McFadden, as well as Ms Gray.
Scrutiny has turned to whether Labour should have declared the use of the house, which Downing Street does not believe personally benefited Sir Keir.
In September, Ms Gray was pictured in a corporate box with the Prime Minister and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, watching the north London derby between Spurs and Arsenal.
The Telegraph can reveal that this was at least the third time Ms Gray has enjoyed hospitality at the stadium.
Ms Gray first accepted matchday hospitality from Tottenham Hotspur during the club’s 3-1 win against Crystal Palace in March.
The following month she watched Spurs lose 3-2 to Arsenal at the same stadium. Sir Keir and Mr Lammy have both declared five tickets worth £2,500 for the match.
Ms Gray receives a taxpayer-funded salary of £170,000 – meaning that she is on £3,000 more than Sir Keir. Previously, the top salary band for special advisers was £140,000 to £145,000.
She also enjoyed a two-day trip to the Braemar Summit in Scotland in September last year, an event that has been nicknamed “McDavos”, days after she became Labour’s chief of staff.
She did not need to declare the exact amount the benefit was worth, but Mr Lammy declared flights, transfers, hotels and food worth £1,117.94 after speaking at the event.
The Labour chief of staff was pictured smiling at dinner at the summit held in an Aberdeenshire village where guests listened to bagpipers and enjoyed a fire pit and canapes put on by Hawthorne Advisors, a PR company.
Others in Sir Keir’s inner circle to receive gifts include a staff member who was given a ticket to the Oliviers in April provided by the Society of London Theatres.
Another advisor received two tickets and hospitality to the Brit Awards in March paid for by UK Music.
They were joined at the event by another aide, who has now left Labour, and also received two hospitality tickets from Aviva for a Chemical Brothers concert in November 2023.
A fifth member of Sir Keir’s team received two tickets to the Chelsea vs Sheffield United Premier League match in December 2023 paid for by Three, the mobile network.
Other ‘freebies’
Those working for other senior cabinet members have also received gifts including an advisor to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, who enjoyed food, drink and two free tickets to the Chemical Brothers at the O2 and tickets to the Brit Awards.
He also received a complimentary ticket to the Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in December 2023 as well as two hospitality tickets for the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley in February.
The advisor was given food, drink and tickets to Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the Champions League in April from the Premier League.
An advisor to Bridget Phillipson received two hospitality tickets to the Wimbledon Ladies Final in July. Although the staffer was invited on the same day as the Education Secretary, she was not in the Royal Box with the cabinet minister who has estimated that her two tickets were worth £1,060.
Those working for Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, have also received a free ticket including an advisor who received a ticket to Arsenal against Newcastle in February. A second aide went to the same match with the ticket paid for by the Premier League.
There is no suggestion that any staff have broken any rules but the majority of secretaries and research assistants listed as working for MPs have not received any gifts in the most recent update to the register of interests.
Gifts or benefits must be declared if the value exceeds £450 in a year and if it relates to or arises from work in Parliament.
Labour declined to comment.
