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08
May 2023
Local MP bags free Elton John tickets from tobacco firm
Conservative MP Nigel Adams received free tickets from a tobacco firm to watch Elton John at the O2 Arena last month.
Latest updates to Parliament's Register of Members' Financial Interests also reveal Mr Adams received payment towards a five-day cricket trip to Corfu as well as free tickets to the Grand National in April
Mr Adams' Selby and Ainsty constituency includes numerous villages in the Harrogate district, including Follifoot, Great Ouseburn, Sicklinghall, Spofforth, Tockwith and Weeton.
The close ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will stand down as an MP at the next General Election.
He accepted two concert tickets, including hospitality, worth £500 at London's O2 Arena on April 4 — part of Elton John's farewell tour.
They were paid for by JTI UK, which is part of Tokyo-based Japan Tobacco Group. Its brands include Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut.
The register shows Mr Adams also received free tickets to watch the Grand National at Aintree from healthcare diagnostics company Randox Health, which is principal sponsor of the horse race.
He also accepted contributions from Birmingham cash and carry wholesaler Awan Marketing towards a five-day trip to Corfu where Mr Adams was part of a Lords and Commons cricket delegation in a tournament to commemorate the 200th anniversary of cricket in Greece.
Awan Marketing's flight and accommodation contributions were estimated to be worth £735.
The Jamaican Tourist Board paid £3,950 towards a similar cricket trip by Mr Adams and a family member to the Caribbean in August last year.
World Cup tickets
This is not Mr Adams' first gambling firm gift.
JTI has previously paid for Mr Adams, who employs his wife Claire as office manager, to attend Chelsea Flower Show.
He received a total of £6,038 worth of tickets from three separate companies, including two other gambling firms, to watch two England matches at Wembley in Euro 2020.
Last year Mr Adams accepted free tickets and hospitality valued at £2,880 to the FIFA World Cup from the Qatar government.
Read more:
Payments to Andrew Jones and Julian Smith
The register also reveals payments to the two other local Conservative MPs in April.
Andrew Jones, who represents Harrogate and Knaresborough, registered two £5,000 donations in April from Yorkshire Conservative Trust.
The register says the trust, which is based in Burley in Wharfedale, awarded the sums to Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association.
Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith received £727 from the Ulster Unionist Party.
The payment was for flights between London and Belfast and one night's hotel accommodation for a speaking engagement at the start of April.
Mr Smith is a former Northern Ireland Secretary who frequently tweets about issues affecting Northern Ireland.
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