TORY MPs have enjoyed a bumper summer of free tickets and hospitality to major sporting events and music festivals over recess, it has emerged.
More than £50,000 worth of access and entertainment for high-profile occasions including the Euros, Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, the Open Golf Championship, Latitude and Tramlines Music Festival was handed out over June, July and August, according to the latest MPs register of interests.
The providers of the tickets include alcohol, bookmaker and betting companies, the Qatar Ministry of Sports and Culture, fast food firms as well as sporting organisations.
Conservative MPs benefited most from the free attendance at the events – which also included rugby and polo matches, cricket matches and horse racing – accounting for nearly eight out of 10 of claims.
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The biggest amount recorded was by Minister for Asia Nigel Adams, who is the Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty. He received tickets with hospitality to attend three matches at the Euro 2020 tournament, with a total value of £6038.
The donors were Power Leisure Bookmakers, betting group Entain Holdings and brewer Heineken UK.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tories, received hospitality at a Euros match from gaming group Gamesys, valued at £3074, and hospitality at Wimbledon from Entain Holdings worth £2200.
Other high-value trips recorded include two tickets and hospitality at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July which had a value of £4248 and were given to Henry Smith, the Tory MP for Crawley, by Emirates Airlines.
His colleague Mark Spencer, who represents Sherwood, attended the Euro Championship semi-final between England and Denmark, which was gifted by The Football Association with a value of £3474.51.
The register shows MPs from Labour and the DUP also registered receiving tickets to events. This included Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray (below), who received two tickets with hospitality for the Open Championship 2021 from R&A Championships Ltd, which had a value of £700.
Labour’s John Spellar, who represents Warley, received tickets with hospitality for the England versus Germany match at Wembley, with a value of £1961, donated by Power Leisure Bookmakers Ltd.
The DUP’s Ian Paisley declared two tickets with hospitality for the British Grand Prix, with a total value of £1516.80, given by Motorsport UK.
Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle declared a trip to the Goodwood horse racing festival, which included guest passes, hospitality, accommodation and dinner with a value of £700. It was donated by Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club and the Embassy of the State of Qatar.
Last week it emerged a group of five Tory ministers are being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for failing to declare free tickets to the Brit Awards within 28 days as required.
Tickets to the music ceremony were given to International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage, Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly and Science Minister Amanda Solloway.
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