MPs in new freebie row after accepting darts hospitality from betting firm Labour’s James Frith and Conservative Caroline Nokes gifted tickets by Paddy Power worth up to £1,000 each.
Both declared the gifts in the MPs’ register of interests, although Frith’s entry mentioned only that Paddy Power paid for his “attendance” at the event, which it sponsors, with no mention of hospitality.
“It’s estimated that the cost of problem gambling in Bury North is £1.6m and that one in seven people in our constituency are at risk of problem gambling,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Two MPs received VIP tickets for the sold-out World Darts Championships courtesy of a betting company – weeks after a national outcry over politicians accepting freebies.
During Safer Gambling Week in November, he posted about the impact of gambling on his constituency of Bury North.
