Rachel Reeves is facing questions once again over accepting hospitality after it emerged on Wednesday that the parliamentary watchdog is investigating her registrations of interest.
The i Paper understands the probe is in regards to a late entry to the members’ register for tickets to see an Oscar Wilde play at the National Theatre that she attended over Christmas.
While the tickets were registered on time on her ministerial register, the time by which she was supposed to update her MP’s register of interest had lapsed, prompting the standards watchdog to investigate. An investigation does not mean rules were broken, however.
The news comes after The i Paper revealed in March that Reeves had accepted free tickets to sit in a corporate box to watch Sabrina Carpenter’s gig at the O2 arena.
It is understood the Chancellor accepted four tickets to see The Importance of Being Earnest, on 27 December which had the value of £276.
Sky News reported the minister It is understood she took two tickets for a dinner and a show worth £265 on 15 March, 2024.
She registered the donations on 27 March 2025.
A spokesperson for Reeves said: “The Chancellor’s interests are fully declared and up to date.”
The late register of the tickets is just the latest in a series of missteps in regards to hospitality for the Chancellor, after she came under heavy criticism for attending the Sabrina Carpenter event at a time when she was proposing sweeping cuts to the welfare budget.
It prompted her to state she would not accept free tickets again, despite claiming that she felt she was “doing the right thing”.
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Read MoreShe told ITV at the time: “I’m not intending to take concert tickets in the future. But you know, it is a balancing act in my job to try and be a good parent and also do my job with some of the security challenges that I face.”
Her decision to accept the free tickets prompted criticism from her fellow government frontbencher including the housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, who said he had accepted “zero” free tickets, adding that he did “not think it was appropriate”.
Both her MP’s register and her ministerial register are believed to be fully up to date.
The investigation into the Chancellor marks the latest in an ongoing scandal of Labour ministers accepting freebies.
Sir Keir Starmer was forced to repay the value of several gifts he was given by party donor and Labour peer Lord Alli last year.
It came as both Starmer and Reeves came under fire for accepting free tickets to attend Taylor Swift’s concert at Wembley last summer.
No fewer than seven cabinet ministers, including Starmer, received tickets to attend Taylor Swift’s tour. In total, 14 Labour MPs got free tickets, many of them with pricey hospitality packages attached, at a total cost of £23,328.
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