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Sue Gray’s MP son’s freebies including Taylor Swift tickets and £10k from Lord Alli_l

Liam Conlon, who was elected to the Beckenham and Penge seat in July for the Labour Party, was one of 11 MPs to receive free tickets to a Taylor Swift concert over the summer.

Sue Gray

Liam Conlon (left) has been dragged into the donations row after mum Sue Gray (right) resigned (Image: X/Getty)

The newly elected MP son of Sir Keir Starmer‘s former closest aide, Sue Gray, has become embroiled in the freebies and donations scandal.

Liam Conlon, who was elected to the Beckenham and Penge seat in July for the Labour Party, was one of 11 MPs to receive free tickets to a Taylor Swift concert over the summer.

He also got a £10,000 donation from controversial business tycoon and Labour peer Lord Alli, to help his election campaign.

Lord Alli was later given an access pass to Number 10 for, as yet, undisclosed reasons.

It comes as his mother resigned as Sir Keir’s chief of staff at Number 10 on the weekend, with her saying “commentary” around her post “risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.

 

It followed weeks of speculation about her role and reports of a “power struggle” at the heart of government.

Her newly-elected son being brought into the donations scandal is likely to add fuel to the issue that has rocked Sir Keir’s Government for the past few weeks.

 

Mr Conlon declared in the MPs’ register of interests receiving two tickets to a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley Stadium on August 20 this year.

The value of the tickets was said to be £1,660 and it was donated by The Premier League

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The same event was attended by Sir Keir, who bagged four free tickets worth £2,800 courtesy of Universal Music Operations Ltd.

Three other Labour MPs, Darren Jones (Bristol North West), Chris Ward (Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven) and Joe Morris (Hexham), all declared receiving at least two tickets for the same concert.

The Prime Minister has since agreed to pay back £6,000, including the £3,398 cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four tickets to the races and a rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by Lady Victoria Starmer, to try to quell the ongoing scandal.

However, it led to accusations it was an admission of wrongdoing.

 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Visits Carbon Capture Project

Sir Keir Starmer has paid back the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets (Image: Getty)

Mr Conlon was also treated to a free ticket to the final of the Paralympics closing ceremony in Paris on September 8 with an overnight stay worth £860.

Besides this, he declared receiving a total of £44,000 of donations for “support linked to an MP but received by a local party organisation or indirectly via a central party organisation.”

The largest donation was from the GMB Union’s Southern Region at £12,000, followed by the £10,000 from business tycoon Lord Alli.

Lord Alli, one of the party’s biggest donors, has caused controversy after he received an access all areas House of Commons pass for, as yet, undisclosed reasons.

He also provided thousands of pounds for Sir Keir to buy designer clothes and glasses while on the election trail.

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Smaller donations totalling £22,000 came from other unions and two private individuals.

Express.co.uk has contacted Mr Conlon, who also received rental income from a London property and is Chair of the Labour Party Irish Society, to ask if he will be paying back the cost of the Taylor Swift Paralympics hospitality.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “All donations are declared in full and in line with all rules.”

 

Upon stepping down as Downing Street chief of staff, Ms Gray was appointed as the prime minister’s envoy for nations and regions.

Morgan McSweeney, the party’s former campaign director who masterminded July’s election landslide, will replace her as the prime minister’s chief of staff.

Ms Gray said that while it had been “an honour to take on the role of chief of staff”, it had become clear that “intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction to the government’s vital work of change”.

She added: “It is for that reason I have chosen to stand aside, and I look forward to continuing to support the prime minister in my new role.”

Ms Gray wrote the scathing Partygate report into Boris Johnson while he was Prime Minister, before it emerged she was in talks about leaving her civil service role to work for Sir Keir.

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