The British government is preparing to tighten the rules on giving ministerial staff free gifts following a harsh reaction to gifts accepted by Prime Minister and his colleagues and the dramatic departure of Rosie Duffield MP.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a number of cabinet ministers have come under criticism recently for accepting thousands of pounds in free gifts from corporate sponsors and millionaire donors, with a party-related scandal hitting the election results.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said the exemption, under which ministers did not have to declare event tickets while all other MPs did, would be removed. Speaking about the new changes, McFadden said:
We will make clear going forward in the ministerial code that both ministers and shadow ministers should be under the same declaration rules. This was a Tory loophole, brought in so that you would have an event where the Tory minister, as it was under the last Government, there, the Labour shadow opposite number would also be there, and the Tory minister would not have to declare.
The statement came after Rosie Duffield MP abruptly quit the Labour Party on Saturday, accusing the Prime Minister and his team of accepting tens of thousands of pounds worth of clothes, glasses and accommodation from Labour peer Lord Alli: “The sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale. I am so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party.”
In line with rules introduced by David Cameron in 2015, details of hospitality received by ministers in the course of their duties are published by departments. The information comes out quarterly and does not include the value of the gift. Whereas MPs and shadow ministers must declare their interests within 28 days, including the value, and the results made public fortnightly.
Hence, this means that sometimes government ministers and their colleagues can attend the same event but only the shadow minister has to declare the value.
“That was the Tory rule, we don’t think that’s fair, so we will close that loophole so ministers and shadow ministers are treated the same going forward,” McFadden said.
Starmer faced criticism earlier this month after it emerged that he had accepted more than £100,000 in gifts. In addition, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson used part of Lord Waheed Alli’s £14,000 donation to pay for her 40th birthday party. This is particularly sensitive against the backdrop that the UK, according to the Labour Party, is facing a difficult economic situation and is restricting winter fuel payments.
