Politics

Angela Rayner’s Ibiza DJ booth rave was £836 freebie

Angela Rayner's Ibiza DJ booth rave was £836 freebie

Angela Rayner’s trip to an Ibiza club was a donation from the management company of the DJ she went to see.

In the most recent MPs register of interests published on Wednesday, the deputy prime minister declared she was given “hospitality – visit to DJ booth, Hi Ibiza, value £836” on 28 August 2024.

The donor is listed as Ayita LCC, the management company for Australian house and techno DJ Fisher, whose booth Ms Rayner was pictured raving in.

Video footage shows Ms Rayner dancing enthusiastically in the DJ booth while being cheered on by the crowd at Hi Ibiza, a 5,000-capacity club on the Spanish party island.

She faced criticism at the time, but argued she believes MPs are allowed “down time” and said she takes her job “really seriously”.

Ms Rayner added she has known DJ Fisher for “a number of years” and he is a “really great guy”.

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Angela Rayner raves in DJ booth

The declaration came as Sir Keir Starmer said he had paid back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality received since becoming prime minister.

He is covering the cost of six Taylor Swift tickets, four to the races and a clothing rental agreement with a high-end designer favoured by his wife, Lady Victoria Starmer.

Sir Keir paid the money back after weeks of criticism of him and his top team accepting tens of thousands of pounds worth of freebies from wealthy donors.

Read more: Check MPs expenses on Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project

Opposition accused Labour of hypocrisy

While this has all been declared, opposition parties have accused Labour of hypocrisy, given they vowed to “clean up politics” if they entered government.

Sir Keir said it was “right” he repaid the donations while he establishes a new set of principles for governing donations, which currently rely on an individual’s judgement.

Read more:
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‘I take my job really seriously’

Singing along to Somebody That I Used To Know

The video of Ms Rayner emerged the day after her visit to Hi Ibiza when actress and singer Denise van Outen posted the footage on Instagram.

Sir Keir’s number two could be seen singing along to a remix of Gotye’s hit song Somebody That I Used to Know.

Van Outen posted the video as part of a series of Instagram images she captioned: “Including a surprise DJ booth rave up with Angela Rayner.”