Greenwich Council leader Anthony Okereke has dismissed criticism from the former head of the government’s ethics watchdog after he accepted free tickets to the Brit Awards from the company behind the O2.
Okereke took two free tickets for this year’s music 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 AEG Europe, which had previously attempted to develop the site.
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 in October: “Receiving so much free benefit as leader of the council, when there’s a potential conflict of interest, is just not acceptable.
“He should have protected his independence by saying ‘that’s very kind of you but I can’t possibly accept such a benefit.’“
But Okereke suggested that Graham, who previously led a trade union representing civil servants and led a commission on Northern Ireland’s contentious parades, had little understanding of local government.
The leader told last week’s Greenwich Council meeting that there was no conflict of interest in him accepting Brit Awards tickets – although he did not address the question of the planned student housing block next door.
“I am not a member of the council’s licensing committee and as such I play no role in licensing decisions. The lcensing committee or sub-committee is responsible for licensing and its decisions are quasi-judicial and based onevidence, policy and law,” he said in a written response.
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.
While licensing committees deal with alcohol and premises licences within the O2, they do not deal with planning issues such as the student block approved earlier this year.
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.
Matt Hartley, the opposition Conservative leader, pressed him on the issue in the council chamber: “I’ve said repeatedly that there is no actual wrongdoing here, but perception matters too, as I know he agrees. So can I press him further on this issue of future corporate gifts?
“It would seem to me surely to be wise for the leader of the council in these circumstances, just to choose not to accept these corporate gifts in the future.”
Hartley joked that he had received a gift of a banana from the London Marathon when taking part in the event earlier this year, and had registered its 18p cost with the council.
“I’m happy not to accept any future bananas if the leader of the council can forego any future Kylie tickets,” Hartley said.
“I’ve never gone to a Kylie concert in my life,” he said, despite having recorded the ticket on his register of interests.
“However, not all gifts offered are accepted. And what I would say to Alistair Graham’s remarks is when he had led a council and been in a position of a council [leader], he’ll be able to understand the roles and responsibilities.
“Sometimes I do go to events where there are key industry areas there. Berkeley Homes is our third biggest employer, and we have to engage with them. Sometimes it means going to the O2 and speaking with the owners.
“That is the role that, and the mandate that I am given as leader to represent this borough, to fight for an inclusive economy, and make sure we get the best outcome for our residents. Councillor Hartley, you can keep your bananas, but I won’t be taking that agreement.”
Hartley said: “Alistair Graham hasn’t run a council, but he was the chair of the Committee for Standards in Public Life, and I think that response to his comments is absolutely extraordinary.”
Okereke’s two predecessors have also taken free concert tickets in recent years. Danny Thorpe 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.
The council has long had close links with the O2, which opened in 2007 and is the biggest private sector employer in the borough, according to figures given to a council scrutiny meeting in September.
London Centric has 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. Its the editor, former Guardian journalist Jim Waterson, said the issue “could be the capital’s own political freebie scandal”, after weeks of stories during the autumn about Sir Keir Starmer and his cabinet members taking free tickets to concerts and football matches.
You must be logged in to post a comment.