Rachel Reeves failed to declare gifts within the required timeframe, breaching parliamentary standards. The gifts, which included theatre tickets, were discovered during an investigation. Reeves attributed the oversight to confusion regarding her roles as chancellor and MP. She only recorded the gifts in the ministerial register, not the MPs’ register. Following this, she expressed a desire for transparency by committing to declare similar gifts in both registers in the future. This incident underscores the complexities and expectations surrounding hospitality declarations in parliament.
Rachel Reeves inadvertently breached parliament's rules by failing to declare gifts on time, the standards watchdog has found. She blamed an oversight for her initial failure to declare the gifts, which included tickets to an adaptation of the classic children's novel Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre over Christmas.
Ms Reeves had only listed the donation in the register for ministers, not MPs. In an email to standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg, Ms Reeves suggested the tickets were received in her capacity as chancellor.
There is often ambiguity as to whether hospitality I receive is purely as a result of my role as a minister, or whether it is additionally received in my capacity as an MP.
To be as transparent as possible, it is my ongoing intention to declare hospitality of this nature on both registers.
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