Gosport politicians say Sir Keir Starrmer should not have taken football tickets from cladding firm
Gosport politicians say Sir Keir Starmer ‘was wrong’ to take free Arsenal tickets from a firm that ‘put dangerous cladding’ on tower blocks in the town.
Councillors and Dame Caroline Dinenage MP have criticised the Labour leader’s acceptance of tickets, worth £1,070, from Mulalley & Co Limited.
The Essex-based construction firm was ordered by the High Court last year to pay out £10.8m over defective cladding on five tower blocks in Gosport.
The judgment was hailed as a ‘landmark ruling’ following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, which took the lives of 72 people after combustible cladding set alight in a London tower block.
Conservative councillor Graham Burgess said: ‘MPs have to beware of what hospitality invitations they accept and the value of it. They should all be registered. Sir Keir was wrong to accept the freebie when he should have been aware of the dangerous cladding this firm used.’
Speaking to MailOnline, Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport said it was ‘very concerning’ that Sir Keir accepted the tickets from a company ‘who put dangerous cladding on buildings, potentially putting the lives of so many residents in my constituency at risk’.
In response, Labour councillor June Cully said Ms Dinenage ‘should remember that it was her government that made it easier for developers to use this faulty cladding material which led to the cladding having to be removed’.
She added: ‘We have seen her expenses online and she seems to have done quite well from free tickets.’
The Liberal Democrat leader of Gosport Borough Council, Peter Chegwyn, declined to comment.
Sir Keir’s office did not respond.