Spending £8,500 to take five Labour MPs to the Brit Awards “is normal practice” the Premier League has claimed. Following revelations that Sir Kier Starmer accepted £35,000 worth of tickets from football clubs and many other members of his party were gifted freebies worth thousands of pounds to sought after events like Taylor Swift concerts there has been greater scrutiny on the hospitality declared by MPs. Analysis of The Register of Members’ Interests has revealed that as political debate raged over whether the wealthy organisation that oversees top flight soccer in England required an independent regulator, members of parliament were gifted tickets for British music’s most prestigious awards event.
After a champagne reception and three-course dinner, MPs watched performances by Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding, Dua Lipa and Kylie Minogue at the star-studded bash hosted by Maya Jama and Roman Kemp. However, when asked by the Express to explain why it would treat politicians to this luxurious experience as they debated taking away significant power from the Premier League the governing body merely insisted it was ‘normal’. “The Premier League engages with a broad range of individuals including MPs.
Like all industries, including many sports organisations, this is normal practice,” it claimed in a statement. According to one of those guests who attended the glitzy event held at the O2 in London in March, Dr Rupa Huq , “wining and dining” by football’s mos.
