RACHEL Reeves bagged free VIP tickets to see pop star Sabrina Carpenter at the O2 Arena, reports claim.
The Chancellor enjoyed luxury hospitality in a corporate box last weekend as Labour rebels are battling against £6bn of looming benefit cuts, according to The i.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is said to have accepted free tickets to Sabrina Carpenter’s London gig[/caption]
Sabrina Carpenter at O2 concert[/caption]
The box is owned by AEG – a former client of lobbying firm FTI Consulting, whose past clients include oil, tobacco, and banking giants.
While there’s no suggestion she broke any rules, it comes after a row last year when ministers racked up £23,000 in freebies for Taylor Swift concerts.
The revelation is awkward for the Chancellor as Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is set to announce a crackdown on disability benefits as early as next Tuesday.
While the Chancellor was at the gig, Work and Pensions Committee chair Debbie Abrahams was reportedly conducting a ring-round of Labour MPs to drum up opposition to the plans.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell, a leading figure in the revolt against benefit cuts, told The i: “I thought that this issue had been settled, and ministers would not be accepting free hospitality for personal benefit.
“So to hear of a repeat, should it have occurred, is deeply troubling, not least at a time when many disabled people are worried sick about having their lifeline of support reduced under the ‘Get Britain Working’ reforms.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “All declarations will be made in the usual way.”
