Keir Starmer's won't ban his Cabinet from accepting freebies - as ministers decline to say whether they will pay back any gifts received since entering office By David Churchill and Martin Beckford Published: 01:40 BST, 4 October 2024 | Updated: 01:55 BST, 4 October 2024 e-mail View comments Sir Keir Starmer was branded 'weak' last night as it emerged he won't ban ministers from accepting freebies – and isn't telling them to repay any. No10 sources said his top team will be free to carry on bagging complimentary hospitality, such as tickets to concerts and sporting events. It comes amid a furious backlash against the scale of freebies accepted by the Prime Minister and those close to him, and despite him promising to lead a 'government of change'.
He has, however, confirmed that the Government is looking into an overhaul of the rules surrounding the registration of gifts for MPs and ministers. It came as a string of Cabinet ministers refused to follow Sir Keir's lead by paying back freebies. The Daily Mail contacted the PM's entire top team after he repaid £6,000 of gifts and hospitality on Wednesday, saying: 'It was right for me to make those repayments.
' Sir Keir Starmer was branded 'weak' last night as it emerged he won't ban ministers from accepting freebies But all those in his Cabinet who have bagged freebies since entering Downing Street on July 5 declined to say that they would follow suit – or tried to justify not repaying them. It suggests the PM is a.