Exclusive

Ipswich MP Jack Abbott gifted free Ed Sheeran tickets

MP Jack Abbott received nearly £3,000 in free tickets to Ipswich's Ed Sheeran gig, a Fabio Wardley fight and multiple football matches in the last year <i>(Image: Newsquest / UK Parliament)</i>
MP Jack Abbott received nearly £3,000 in free tickets to Ipswich's Ed Sheeran gig, a Fabio Wardley fight and multiple football matches in the last year (Image: Newsquest / UK Parliament)
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

Ipswich MP Jack Abbott received free tickets worth in excess of £2,000 to two blockbuster Portman Road events - including an Ed Sheeran gig and the Fabio Wardley fight.

The Labour MP received two tickets to the Sheeran concert at Portman Road in July at an estimated value of £1,128 in July from Ipswich Town FC, according to his registered interests published on the UK Parliament page.

In June, he also received two tickets to Fabio Wardley's interim WBA World Heavyweight to an estimated valued at £1,060 from the club, alongside two £250 Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United tickets in December last year.

This comes after Labour was criticised last year for accepting tens of thousands of pounds in freebies from wealthy donors, including Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer receiving £2,800 in Taylor Swift tickets and Chancellor Rachel Reeves taking £600 in Sabrina Carpenter tickets.

Standard tickets to the Ed Sheeran gig at Portman Road cost fans between £45 and £125.(Image: Newsquest)

Mr Abbott's football gifts also stretch back to August of last year, when Manchester City gave him two free tickets to Manchester City vs Manchester United FA Community Shield at Wembley, worth an estimated £880.

The Suffolk MP is currently estimated to earn £93,904 according to House of Commons Information Office documents.

Ed Sheeran performed three nights at Portman Road in July(Image: Oli Picton)

Other notable gifts include a ticket worth £1,195 from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for the UK's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum in May and a £2,000 donation from French energy company EDF Energy in August 2024 - which was used to attend a conference where he discussed Portman Road.

Jack Abbott, MP for Ipswich.(Image: Roger Harris/House of Commons)

Mr Abbott, who was elected as Ipswich MP last July after defeating Conservative incumbent Tom Hunt, said: “I attended UKREiiF, a major investment and infrastructure conference, to drive significant investment into Ipswich and Suffolk.

“I showcased the East of England Investment prospectus, which contained £4bn of projects for our region, including the Portman Road redevelopment site, which is crucial for our town.

“I’ve already delivered significant jobs and investment for Ipswich - for example, the agreement I secured with Sizewell C, which will guarantee 500 well-paid, skilled and secure jobs - and I will continue to fight for our town.

Jack Abbott was elected to be Ipswich MP on July 4 2024(Image: Jack Abbott)

“I’ve worked closely with Ipswich Town FC since my election, and they are crucial partners in making the positive, lasting change I’m driving forward.

"I was invited to support landmark events at Portman Road to help highlight the enormous progress our town is making, and I’ll continue to champion the football club and other organisations who are helping build a new future for Ipswich.”

He also noted that his predecessor, Mr Hunt, had taken more than £1,000 in gifts from Ipswich Town FC in the last year of his tenure, as well as a £1,611 trip to Gibraltar gifted by Gibraltar National Day visit.

Mr Hunt was also gifted a £1907 trip to Israel to "witness first hand the aftermath of the October 7th Hamas massacre" by ELNET UK in January 2024.

What have other Suffolk MPs received in gifts?

Including Nick Timothy's £145,000 annual remuneration for his work as a Daily Telegraph columnist, this newspaper estimates that about £180,000 in gifts were given to Suffolk MPs in the last year.

Jess Asato, MP for Lowestoft.(Image: Jess Asato's office)

Jess Asato

Jess Asato, MP for Lowestoft, most recently received a ticket to the BAFTA Television Award event in London in May from Channel Four Television Company, worth an estimated £750.

She says she was invited to attend as an Officer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Domestic Abuse to support a Channel 4 documentary named ‘The Push: Murder on the Cliff’.

She has been contacted for comment on her BAFTA Television Award tickets.

Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.(Image: Newsquest)

Peter Prinsley

Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, was gifted £2,600 in flights, accommodation and food by Labour Friends of Israel, as part of a delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Dr Prinsley was due to view the medical and humanitarian work being carried out by a range of organisations, including Medical Aid for Palestinians.

The delegation was later denied entry to Israel as they said the Israeli authorities "regrettably" prevented them from "seeing first-hand the grave challenges" facing medical facilities in the region.

Adrian Ramsay, Green MP for Waveney Valley.(Image: Supplied)

Adrian Ramsay

Adrian Ramsay, MP for Waveney Valley, has not registered any gifts or paid for trips in the last session.

He has previously recorded a total of about £600 in fees from the BBC between June 2024 and August 2024 for interviews with the broadcaster, taxis from accommodation and train journeys, as well as a further £383 from Mentron Media Limited for an appearance on BBC Question Time.

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter is the MP for Suffolk Coastal.(Image: The Labour Party)

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, MP for Suffolk Coastal, has registered that she received £12,000 in donations from a Mr Jerome Justin Watts in the last parliamentary session for political activity.

She also received £8,250 from Anthony Trevor Langham in May and £8,250 from Susan Clare Parsons in August last year.

She said: "I regularly receive donations and declare them in the appropriate way.

"These donations allow me to pay for things such as constituency newsletters, community events and other constituency-focused activities that rightly aren't funded by the taxpayer."

Patrick Spencer, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich.(Image: Laurie Noble/House of Commons)

Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, registered a £3,000 donation from a Mr Keith Craig in February; however, he says the support was received by the party rather than himself.

He did not file any other gifts, benefits and hospitality in her register of interests for the last parliamentary session.

Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk.(Image: Nick Timothy)

Nick Timothy

Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, received two Club Wembley match tickets and hospitality for the Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace on 26 April by a Mr Andrew Law.

Mr Timothy is well-known as an Aston Villa fan and is understood to have attended the FA Cup semi-final with the tickets worth £3,744.

He also registered receiving a £145,000 annual remuneration for his work as a columnist in the Daily Telegraph.

The MP is also an honorary member of the Newmarket Jockey Club Rooms, with that status being given in an estimated £780 gift from the club.

Get involved
with the news

Send your news & photos