news

Culture cash
Keir Starmer, Issue 1620
keir.jpg THE normally buttoned-up Keir Starmer won plaudits earlier this month for an impassioned speech in praise of British culture.

Appearing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the opposition leader promised that a Labour government would have a proper strategy for the creative industries, grew misty-eyed as he revealed his own flute-fondling past, and spoke of the importance of cracking down on touts who ramp up the prices of tickets for musical and sporting events.

Free thinker
Sir Keir does indeed love culture – though he doesn't always love to pay for it. Last summer, an openDemocracy analysis found he had accepted more free tickets to sports events, concerts and parties than the combined total of every other Labour leader since records began in 1997, worth nearly £30,000.

He has hoovered up gifts including football tickets, days at the races and gig tickets for acts such as Adele and Coldplay – paid for by firms including online shopping app Getir, Just Eat and construction giant Mulalley & Co.

Since then, the freebies have kept coming, with eight more outings worth almost £13,000, according to the Eye's calculations.

Premier in waiting
The most recent Starmer outing is part of a Premier League schmoozing offensive with Labour figures. This month it also paid for culture and sport committee member Rupa Huq and shadow ministers Liz Kendall, Peter Kyle and Pat McFadden to attend the Brit Awards – just as a new football regulator, of which the mighty Premier League is highly suspicious, begins its life.

More top stories in the latest issue:

CONTRACT KILLINGS
Rachel Reeves's Mais lecture was largely business-friendly, but her plan to ban zero-hours contracts did upset one architect of the last Labour assault on power.

COMPETITION CLOSED
More details emerge of exactly how racist health IT boss Frank Hester makes enough money from GP practices to give £15m to the Tory party.

HARD TO SWALLOW
Caterer Compass's apology for "unacceptable" school meals at a Southampton school shows little has changed since Marcus Rashford exposed its poor meals.

CLUB RIVALRY
Both the Guardian and the Mail managed to omit significant names at their own papers from their reports on all-male "bastion of elitism" the Garrick Club.

UNNATURAL SELECTION
The original selection of a parliamentary Labour candidate for the constituency of Croydon East is under investigation by Inspector Knacker's cybercrime unit.

CHILDREN ACT
Fujitsu's European chief has confessed his company's "moral responsibility" in the Post Office scandal – yet he seems keen to hide behind lawyers.

POSTS TO FILL
Applicants for roles in the government's Horizon Compensation Unit are warned of "high levels of public, parliamentary and press scrutiny". No kidding.

To read all the latest Private Eye news, get the latest edition - you can subscribe here and have the magazine delivered to your home every fortnight.

Next issue on sale: 10th April 2024
gnitty
MORE TOP STORIES ONLINE
Slow burner
Slow burner
Kemi Badenoch's odd logic over Post Office compensation
News, Issue 1618
No limits
No limits
Russian money laundering
HP Sauce, Issue 1618
Dan's flaws
Dan's flaws
Mixed news for shamed Dan Wootton
Street Of Shame, Issue 1619
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
ONLY IN THE MAGAZINE
Private Eye Issue 1620
In This Issue
Wally reveals truth about mystery absence… A London Clinic Doctor writes… Asylum seekers moved out of hotels need to be moved into hotels… Nurseryland voted happiest place to live… Major road closure causes havoc in Oz… Ofcom report shocks world with GB News ruling… Why the next James Bond will be a woke disaster… Allison Pearson's Diary, as told to Craig Brown

Prison breaking
The troubled jail that's locking people out

Imposter syndrome
More problems for the "outspoken" Dan Wootton

Cyber nasty
Labour's trouble with Knacker over candidate selection

Read these stories and much more - only in the magazine. Subscribe here to get delivery direct to your home and never miss an issue!
ONLY £2.99
SUBSCRIBE HERE
NEXT ISSUE ON SALE
10th April 2024
WHY SUBSCRIBE?
Private Eye Issue 1619
MORE FROM PRIVATE EYE