ANDOVER MP Kit Malthouse has accepted gifts worth hundreds of pounds - including hospitality and tickets to the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley.
The most recent parliamentary Register of Members’ Interests shows that several MPs in north Hampshire have accepted gifts or donations from organisations in the past year.
An Advertiser investigation has shown the minister of state for crime and policing enjoyed tickets and hospitality at the European Championships semi-final at Wembley on July 7 this year when England beat Denmark 2-1 in the football competition, to reach the final for the first time in their history. The total value of the tickets and hospitality, courtesy of UEFA, in Switzerland, was estimated as £815.
Mr Malthouse also accepted tickets for two adults and two children to CarFest South, held at Laverstoke Park Farm in August, valued at £470.
The MP for North West Hampshire was given another gift from Laverstoke Park Farm during a visit on June 25, when he was presented with cheese and wine valued at £60.
The gifts were legitimately accepted and declared under parliamentary rules.
When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for the MP said: “All processes have been followed, everything has been appropriately registered with the Commons Registrar, and it’s in the public domain.”
Additionally, the register showed that another of North Hampshire’s MPs, Ranil Jayawardena, accepted office space from an outsourcing giant that was paid £50 million a month to run the government’s test-and-trace programme.
Mr Jayawardena, MP for North East Hampshire, is one of 12 MPs to have benefited from links to private health firms.
The Register of Members’ Financial Interests as of October 18 shows that Mr Jayawardena, the minister for international trade, accepted a donation in kind worth £18,999.96 from Serco.
He accepted additional office space provided by Serco, based in Bartley Way, Hook, for his constituency staff, with a value of £1,583.33 per month, valued at £18,999.96 annually.
The MP accepted the donation on August 1 this year, and it will run to July 31, 2022. On the register he described the donation as: “Additional office space provided by a local business for my constituency staff.”
Mr Jayawardena, who was first elected in 2015, was approached for comment but did not respond before The Advertiser went to print.
Since April 2020, the basic pay for an MP has been £81,932 per year. On top of this, MPs are allowed to make expense claims for their commute between parliament and their constituency. They also receive heavily discounted food and drink at Parliament, subsidised by public money.
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