Can MPs Really Justify Accepting Corporate Hospitality and Gifts While Working For The Public?

It was announced this week that a group of 10 Scottish MPs  (MSPs) were the guests of fast food giant McDonalds, at this years Community Shield football event at Wembley stadium.  The 10 MSPs were each given tickets, accommodation and entertainment which amounted to £1,000 per person, and all at a time when they are “fighting” junk food consumption in Scotland.  So how do they justify a “freebie” from McDonalds?

The short answer is that they cannot justify such a freebie to the everyday tax payer, who has put them in a position where they should be serving us and not taking corporate hospitability freebies from companies that they are supposed to be “fighting”.  Lets not forget that this is at a time when all Scottish schools are searching children’s lunch boxes every day, a time when they have banned fizzy drinks and “inappropriate food”.  What action have the authorities taken against the likes of McDonalds - absolutely nothing - and does taking hospitality from them not compromise their positions?

This is the latest in a long list of scandals whereby MPs, councillors and others in public office have been caught taking corporate hospitality from industry.  These public servants (because that is effectively what they are) don’t mind taking gifts from anyone willing to take them for a tour, or provide entertainment, but as everyone knows, there is no such thing as a free lunch. 

At some stage these companies will want a return on their “investment”, a sympathetic ear to their plight - all at the expense of the public, whom the authorities are supposed to be serving!