Cabinet ministers faced pressure to repay thousands of pounds in tickets for Taylor Swift and Glastonbury concerts.Government minister Sarah Jones admitted on Thursday there were questions over for “what purpose” politicians had accepted gifts and hospitality.
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00:00Well, look, he said we need to have a look at the principles that sit behind the ministerial
00:05code. We're re-looking at those and in advance of those coming out, he has paid back some
00:11of the tickets that he, some of the payments that he had during his time as Prime Minister.
00:17And I think that was a thing that he is doing in advance of having the re-look at our principles
00:25and our code.
00:26Why not the Arsenal tickets?
00:29I think there's an issue of security there, where he can't sit in the normal stands and
00:32so he has to sit elsewhere. That's security. But look, he's wanting us to have a new set
00:37of principles on gifts and hospitality, showing leadership on that. It's the right thing
00:41to do. And in advance of that, he's made some payments back for some of the entries
00:46on his register.
00:47A stadium is a stadium is a stadium. So if he's paying back the money for Wembley, why
00:52is not paying back the money for the Arsenal?
00:56I don't know the details of it. All I can say is that he has made some payments back.
01:01He is looking again at the principles. That is the right thing to do. Nobody's suggesting
01:05anybody's broken any rules. It's not a question of that, but we are looking at those rules
01:10and saying, actually, do we need to change them in terms of gifts and hospitality?
01:14Yeah. How do you feel about it?
01:17I think it's good that we're looking at those rules. As I say, nobody's broken any rules
01:22that exist at the moment. It's something that nobody is suggesting. I think under the
01:29last government, the issue was always about transparency, people not declaring things,
01:33people not going by the rules. Everybody has gone by the rules. We're having a look again.
01:37And look, we're 12 weeks into this government. We're incredibly busy ending the doctors strike,
01:44making sure we're setting up the industrial strategy.
01:46Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're not going down that road. How much damage do you think this has
01:50done to your party?
01:52Well, I think we're a new government. We are always worried. And Keir's main item in the
02:01speech that he made at conference was the lack of trust people have in politicians.
02:04We need to do more to make sure people trust politicians because politics can be a force
02:09for good. That is the whole driving value of what Keir Starmer is about. And that's
02:12what he's going to do in this government.
02:15So you can acknowledge that all these freebies that have been floating about have damaged
02:20the trust in Keir Starmer?
02:23Well, I think he is doing the right thing, looking at those principles, looking at it
02:28in terms of hospitality. He is absolutely clear that he wants trust in politics.
02:33Can you answer my question?
02:36I am answering the question. He wants to build trust in politics.
02:38No, you're not. I'm asking about the damage in trust to Keir Starmer's reputation for
02:42accepting many thousand pounds worth of freebies.
02:46I think clearly this has been a big story in the news. It's clearly been something that
02:52we are addressing, the Prime Minister is addressing. He wants to put trust back in politics. He
02:56wants to respond to people. He wants to build a country that everyone can prosper in. And
03:01that's what he's doing. He will do the right thing as always. He has not broken any rules.
03:06He is looking again at the principles around gifts and hospitality. That's the right thing
03:10to do.