Rachel Reeves faced a Labour backlash tonight after blaming ‘security’ fears for taking £600 tickets to a Sabrina Carpenter gig.
The Chancellor said accepting the freebie at the O2 Arena for her and a ‘family member’ was the ‘right thing to do’.
She argued that they were ‘not tickets you were able to buy’ – although she stressed the value will be declared in transparency registers.
The explanation came as Ms Reeves was grilled about ‘austerity’ plans in broadcast interviews ahead of the Spring Statement this week.
The government has been left scrabbling for billions of pounds in cuts to spending after growth slumped amid the huge Budget tax raid and Donald Trump’s trade war.
News of Ms Reeves’ enjoyment of corporate hospitality, said to have been provided by AEG, sparked a renewed backlash from Labour MPs unhappy at welfare cuts.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell told MailOnline: ‘Those who live in poverty will rightly question, as they struggle to get by, why those who are cutting their…