Minister glosses over damage from Labour's 'freebies' furore saying Keir Starmer 'hasn't broken rules' - but admits she might pay back Proms ticket gift By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline Published: 03:26 EDT, 3 October 2024 | Updated: 03:28 EDT, 3 October 2024 e-mail View comments A minister today played down the damage from the freebies furore engulfing Keir Starmer insisting the government is 'incredibly busy'. Sarah Jones dodged on whether the PM's personal standing had been hit by the row as she toured broadcast studios this morning. Asked on Sky News how she felt about the situation after Sir Keir dramatically announced last night that he was paying back more than £6,000, the business minister said: 'We're having a look again and look, we're 12 weeks into this government, we're incredibly busy ending the doctors' strike, making sure we're setting up the industrial strategy.
..' Ms Jones stressed that the government was 'worried' about the lack of trust in politicians more widely but it was 'something the PM is addressing'.
'We're a new government, we're always worried, and Keir's main item in the speech he made at conference was the lack of trust people have in politicians,' she said. 'We need to do more to make sure people trust politicians because politics can be a force for good. That is the whole driving value of what Keir Starmer is about.
' Pressed again on whether the row had damaged Sir Keir, the MP insisted he was not worried about his own popul.