Transcript of PM 'would love to sit in stands' at football matches, but security 'would cost taxpayer too much'

Now, it's the Labor Party conference this weekend, and joining me now from there is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Lisa Nandy. Very good morning to you. Thanks so much for talking to us here this morning. So your first party conference is-Good morning.winning your huge majority at the general election. So you should be riding high, shouldn't you? But the last week has been dominated, hasn't it? By news of Keir Starmer accepting freebie. So are you confident you can push past that?

Look, I'll be honest with you, every single member of the cabinet is completely focused on fixing the very many problems that we inherited from the last conservative government and pushing forward with a really positive agenda for how we change our country. In the last few months, we've introduced the railways bill to Parliament and seen it pass its common stages to take our railways into public ownership. We've been pushing ahead with plans to put arts and sports back at the of the curriculum so every child can have a richer, larger life and a better experience in school. We've been reforming the housing rules to get Britain building again. We're absolutely focused on the very many challenges that face this country. We're very, very excited to be in government because we have the chance to fix this now. And that is the mood amongst the cabinet as we head into our first conference in government for 15 years.

So let's just clear up the freebies issue, shall we? Because yesterday, the Prime Minister said that he wouldn't take any more free clothes. Neither would Angela Reina or Rachel Reece, who also said that they'd accepted some, too. Were they wrong to take them in the first place?

All MPs take gifts and donations in kind. That's the system that we have in the UK. The important thing is that we're really transparent about the way in which that happens so that people can judge for themselves, make their own about whether those gifts are appropriate, and most importantly, understand the relationships that exist so that they can see whether there's been any improper or undue influence. In all of these cases, I don't think there's been any suggestion that there was improper or undue influence. And that's why we declare these things openly and transparently so that people can judge for themselves whether they think that that is the correct decision or not.

So if nothing was done wrong, why then have they come out and said that that they're not going to take freebies in the future? Was it seen to have been a distraction?

Well, we certainly don't want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes when we have a really positive agenda for this country. But I think that these have always been very difficult issues in British politics. We rightly have a system, I think, where the taxpayer doesn't fund these things. We don't claim on expenses for them. And so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind. Mps of all political parties have historically done that, and that is the system that we have. But the really important thing is that we're just open and transparent about those donations and about those relationships. And we will, as a government, continue to do that going forward. We have been to date and we'll continue to do that in the future.

No one is saying that the rules were broken here, but Do you think that Kirstamur failed to realize that this might look like he was out of touch accepting expensive clothes like this?

We expect our politicians to be well-turned out. We expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately. But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we're open and transparent about them. I think there are different views in the public about whether they think that the system that we have is the right one. The debate is very welcome. But The point is to have an open and transparent debate with people having the full facts about what has happened. I don't think there's any suggestion here that Keir Starmer has broken any rules. I don't think there's any suggestion that he's done anything wrong. And we have been open and transparent about the gifts and donations that we've received. We said that we would be a government that is back in the service of working people. We are back in the service of working people, and that includes giving them the information that they need to make their own minds up about the way that we conduct our government, and we will listen and we'll be responsive, and we'll make sure that we always act in the interests of the public.

And in the interest of transparency, have you ever accepted free clothes from a donor Will you rule it out in the future?

I haven't accepted free clothes from a donor. I think you can probably see that I choose my own clothes, sadly, I think, according to some of my staff I have, but no, I haven't. But I don't make any judgments about what other members of Parliament do. The only judgment I would make is if they're breaking the rules, so they're trying to hide what they're doing, that's when problems arise, because the point of being open and transparent is that people can see where the relationships are, and they can then judge for themselves whether there's been any undue influence. And in this case, there hasn't been any undue influence. We've been open and transparent, and that's the most important thing.

Okay, let me just deal with the football tickets then, because the close we've very much dealt with. But Kirstammer hasn't addressed the £35,000 worth of free football tickets that he's accepted. He says the security costs of being in the stands are too high and be too much of a burden on the taxpayer to keep him safe. You will go to sporting events as part of your job as Culture Secretary, but does he need to be there every week at such cost?

Well, he doesn't go to the football for free. He has a season ticket at Arsenal. He pays for it himself like every single other fan.

But he's accepted donated hospitality, hasn't he?

I know the Prime Minister. But I I know the Prime Minister. I know that he'd rather be sitting in the stands. He loves football. He's a genuine football fan. And he not only goes to watch Arsenal and to watch other clubs every week, but he also plays football as well. He pays for his season ticket. But the problem that has arisen since he became leader of the opposition and then Prime Minister is that for him to sit in the stands would require a huge security detail. It'd be disruptive for other people, and it would cost the taxpayer a lot of money. I think he's taken a very sensible decision that that's not the right and appropriate thing to do, and it's right to accept that he has to go and sit in a different area. But I know him well. I know that he'd much rather be sitting in the stands cheering people on with the usual crowd that he's been going to the football with for years.

Can I just ask you a quick question about another story that's been dominating headlines and the allegations that have been made against the late Mohamed Al-Fayed, given that many women felt that they couldn't speak out while he was still alive. Can I ask you what redress you can hope that they can get?

Well, I've seen the news this morning, particularly about Fulham Football Club, which is obviously added to the stories, the allegations that have been made by former members of staff at Harrods as well. It's something that, as a government, we take really seriously. Before I came into Parliament, I worked with children and young people, some of whom had been through the most horrendous experiences of child abuse. Our government has made it an absolute priority to make sure that we put women and girls, their safety and security at the very top of our agenda. I'm really pleased to see that Fulham is doing a full investigation, that they've invited women to come forward to talk about what potentially actually happen to them. Obviously, I can't comment on the allegations themselves, but I think that investigation is right and necessary. It's the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, whether it's across media institutions, across cultural institutions, across sporting institutions. It's something that we will treat with the highest priority. It is a personal priority for me and a political priority for this government.

Well, Lisa and Andy, we really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for joining us ahead of your party conference.Thank you.Thank you.