Greenwich Council leader Anthony Okereke’s decision to accept free concert tickets from one of the owners of the O2 Arena has been called “just not acceptable” by the former head of the government’s ethics watchdog.
Okereke took two free tickets for this year’s Brit Awards – worth £495 each – from the vice-president and general manager of the venue, which is operated by AEG Europe, just three weeks after his council’s main planning committee approved a 36-storey student housing block next to the O2.
The developer was Crosstree, a company that co-owns the O2 alongside, which had previously attempted to develop the site.
Okereke had also attended the previous year’s Brits as a guest of AEG. In addition, he also accepted free tickets to two of the company’s British Summer Time concerts in Hyde Park – featuring SZA and Kylie Minogue – during the summer, although these were given to him because he is on the board of Royal Parks, the charity that runs Greenwich Park.
The free tickets were declared on Okereke’s register of interests, and there is no suggestion of impropriety. While Okereke sets the council’s overall direction as leader, he was not on the planning board, which sits independently, and the Conservative councillor Pat Greenwell was among those backing the scheme.
But Sir Alistair Graham, the former trade unionist who chaired the Committee for Standards in Public Life under Tony Blair’s government, told the London Centric newsletter: “Receiving so much free benefit as leader of the council, when there’s a potential conflict of interest, is just not acceptable. Clearly, the people offering the hospitality had a vested interest in seeking his support for planning proposals and he should have protected his independence by saying ‘that’s very kind of you but I can’t possibly accept such a benefit.’“
London Centric, which first reported the story, is one of a wave of new newsletters about the capital which come in the wake of the Evening Standard’s closure as a printed daily. Last week it reported on other senior figures in London boroughs taking free tickets, including Tower Hamlets councillors taking thousands of pounds in freebies to the All Points East festival in Victoria Park, which the council awards AEG a licence to use.
Its editor, former Guardian journalist Jim Waterson, said the issue “could be the capital’s own political freebie scandal”, after weeks of stories about Sir Keir Starmer and his cabinet members taking free tickets to concerts and football matches.
Matt Hartley, the leader of Greenwich’s Conservative opposition, said: “Councillor Okereke has declared these freebies on his register of interests, as he is required to do.
“However, I am sure that the leader of the council – given the damage to public trust that has been done by the freebies scandal that engulfed No 10 so quickly after Labour entered government – will be reflecting on whether it would be wiser not to accept these gifts in the future.
“Ensuring there is no perception of conflict of interest is an important part of protecting public trust in our local democratic processes. That is an aim that is certainly worth passing up a few concerts for – even if it is Kylie.”
There have been close links between AEG and Greenwich Council since the O2 opened in 2007 with other councillors given free tickets over the years. About 1,000 people work at the O2, making it the biggest private sector employer in the borough, according to figures given to a council scrutiny meeting last month.
The council even had a box at the arena, with tickets often sold on to residents or given to community groups, although this is thought to have ceased six years ago.
Okereke’s two predecessors have also taken free concert tickets in recent years. Danny Thorpe, who stood down as a councillor last month, saw Pink and Gwen Stefani in Hyde Park in June last year as a guest of Royal Parks, while Denise Hyland, the cabinet member for finance saw Tom Jones at Greenwich Summer Sounds the following month as a guest of the Old Royal Naval College.
Both Okereke and Hyland saw a production of Carmen at Sadler’s Wells in July this year as guests of the Acosta Dance Company, which moved into Woolwich Works last year.
Greenwich Council and AEG have both been contacted for comment. The council told London Centric: “The leader of the council is not a member of the council’s licensing committee and as such plays no role in licensing decisions. This is a completely transparent process and there are no concerns of a conflict of interest regarding these publicly available facts.
“The O2 is an internationally renowned venue that brings millions of tourists to our borough every year, while employing thousands of people and supporting our local economy. As the leader of the council, and Royal Parks board member, there may be occasions when hospitality is offered to the leader, and if it is accepted it is routinely declared.”
What gifts have your councillor declared? Find them and their registers of interest on the Greenwich Council website.
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