Sports-mad Mr Speaker and his £40k in freebies
HIS team may have failed to win, but John Bercow still had plenty to cheer about yesterday.
The sports-mad Commons Speaker was enjoying yet another apparent freebie, watching his beloved Arsenal from the luxury of the directors’ box.
Mr Bercow, 53, has been given more than £40,000 worth of tickets and hospitality over the last three years.
Yesterday, he had prime seats at the Emirates Stadium in north London to watch Arsenal draw 1-1 with local rivals Tottenham. Hospitality tickets for the match started at £960. Wearing a blue suit and bright red jumper, he could be seen leaping out of his seat when his team scored. The outing was his 11th free trip this year.
In September, tennis fan Mr Bercow was given two tickets ‘with associated hospitality’ for the three- day Davis Cup semi-final at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, valued at £1,384.
The same month he received one night’s accommodation and hospitality, worth £2,815, for himself and a staff member at five-star golf resort the Gleneagles Hotel and Spa in Scotland during a visit in his capacity as Speaker.
He made two free trips to Wimbledon in July, one occasion in the Royal Box, where he and his wife Sally, 46, watched Andy Murray win.
The previous month he saw tennis at the Aegon International Eastbourne and the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club, London.
And Mr Bercow watched Arsenal for free again in May, getting two tickets to see them play Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, valued at £1,440.
Away from sport, he was given two free tickets and hospitality at the Classic FM Live concert at the Royal Albert Hall in April, worth £146.
Mr Bercow is paid £151,526 a year, comprised of an MP’s salary of £74,962 and the additional salary for the Speaker of £76,564. He and his wife, from whom he separated briefly last year after she had an affair with his cousin, own a £1.2million house in Battersea, south London.
A spokesman for the Speaker said: ‘It is no secret that Mr Bercow is a keen football fan, and watches matches live when he has the opportunity. Any hospitality is declared in full to the Register of Members’ Interests, in accordance with the rules.’
‘In accordance with the rules’