Michael Gove breached Commons rules by failing to declare freebie football tickets on time

Michael Gove in hot water for failing to declare VIP hospitality at football matches

Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, has been found to have breached Commons rules by failing to declare free football tickets on time. The parliament's sleaze watchdog discovered that Gove had not registered VIP hospitality at three matches within the required 28-day period.

Apology and update to declaration of interests

After an investigation, chief sleaze investigator Daniel Greenberg allowed Gove to update his declaration of interests. Gove expressed his apologies for the oversight, explaining that he had regularly attended matches with hospitality from specific organizations and also paid for tickets to attend games with his son and friends. Gove has since registered all three matches with the registrar.

Details of the VIP treatment

Michael Gove enjoyed VIP treatment at three Queens Park Rangers games, one of which was courtesy of Tory donor David Mellor in 2021. The other two matches were gifted by the club in 2020 and 2022. Gove and his son watched the games from the box of club chairman Amit Bhatia, with tickets valued at £460 and £542.

Watchdog's response

In response to the late registrations, Mr. Greenberg stated that while the interests were registered significantly late, he considered them to be minor in nature and did not impose any further punishment on Gove.