SIR KEIR Starmer has today hit back at accusations he was “King of the Freebies” as he defended his VIP Arsenal tickets.
The Prime Minister insisted it was “common sense” for him to sit in football hospitality seats after declaring more than £100,000 of gifts.
Keir Starmer has defended his free Arsenal tickets
PASue Gray is also at the centre of a growing pay row[/caption]
The intervention comes as he insists he is “completely in control” of his government amid the Sue Gray pay deal row.
He was also forced to admit that he was the one running the country after being left red-faced by a slew of stories about his most powerful aide.
A dossier revealed his declarations include tickets for his favourite club Arsenal along with suits and spectacles from Labour donor Lord Alli worth £18,000.
The multi-millionaire Peer also gave clothes worth £5,000 of high-end clothes to his wife Lady Victoria.
The PM said he didn’t think it as “fair” that “the taxpayer who’s going to have to pick up the tab for the extra security” if he sits in the stands.
Sir Keir has had to move seats after having season tickets since they moved to the Emirates stadium where he sits with his son and friends.
He added: “So I’ve taken up the offer to sit elsewhere in the stands so I can still see Arsenal play because I’ve been going for many, many years to see them on a regular basis, and I intend to continue to do so when I said.”
The Prime Minister who will look to move on from the freebie controversy at next week’s party conference also side-stepped questions about why he didn’t pay for his own suits.
He said: “The important thing in all of this is that we follow the rules, which is really important to me and make the declarations so that everything is transparent.
“I’m utterly focussed day in day out actually on how we make the economy work for everyone , how do we get the health service in the place that we need it.”
He was also pressed on why there are people in government so upset with the Number 10 operation that they release details of Sue Gray’s salary.
It emerged yesterday that she is being paid £3,000 more than the PM’s £167,000 salary.
He said: “I’m completely in control. I’m focused and every day the message from me to the team is exactly the same, which is we have to deliver.
“We were elected on a big mandate to deliver change, I am determined that we are going to do that.”