Labour MP spent over £700 of taxpayers money on 'influencers toolkit'
Zarah Sultana, the Corbyn-supporting MP for Coventry South with 85,000 followers on Instagram, used her expense account to buy equipment
View attachment 20186
Rising star Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who regularly features in videos for left-wing Youtube channels, has spent almost £800 of taxpayers’ money on an “influencer toolkit”, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Corbynite MP for Coventry South is being urged to explain why she used parliamentary expenses to purchase an LED ring light designed for “Youtube video shooting, photography or makeup”, as well as a Canon camera and a professional microphone.
Ms Sultana frequently contributes high-quality videos to Double Down News, a left-wing online news channel, with recent features including a clip of her “unboxing political freebies” in her parliamentary office.
She has also amassed more than 100,000 followers on 1.8 million likes on her personal TikTok account, as well as 85,000 followers on Instagram.
Questions about Ms Sultana’s expenses claims come as another prominent Labour MP, Dawn Butler, faces criticism for claiming more than £200 for professional microphone and recording devices usually found in DJ sets.
Ms Sultana claims her purchases were for constituency and constituency purposes, but did not respond to a request to show examples of the equipment contributing to such work. Instead, critics claim she neglected the spirit of the expenses system.
The chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, John O’Connell said that “taxpayers will be deeply concerned that their money has been spent on an expensive influencer tool kit.”
Mr O’Connell added: “The electorate expects politicians to stay grounded and keep costs under control, particularly when it comes to high-end digital equipment. With the economy and public finances in such dire straits, MPs must show that we’re all in it together and think carefully about what they claim for.”
That sentiment was shared by a senior Labour parliamentary staffer with knowledge of the expenses process, who said: “Whether or not it’s a justified claim, filing for a ring light just looks foul.”
Ms Sultana has previously come under scrutiny for claiming £1,193 for a new iPhone, having said that her previous one stopped working, and was separately forced to repay £2,800 after claiming for “consultancy work” which was later found to be outside the rules. The work is believed to have involved the designing of her website.
More recently, the maverick MP was forced to pay back £25 she claimed for a yoga class, which parliamentary authorities bluntly said was “not claimable under the [expenses] scheme”.
MPs’ expenses have come under greater scrutiny in recent weeks, after it was revealed that they collectively spent nearly £40,000 of taxpayers’ money on Apple laptops, wireless earphones, iPhones and iPads during the pandemic.
A spokesperson for Zarah Sultana said: “For an MP’s office to purchase digital equipment like this is common, absolutely within the rules, and supports their Parliamentary and constituency work.
“Rest assured that this report will not deter Zarah in campaigning against poverty and inequality, and in building a world for the many, not just the few.”
A spokesperson for IPSA said that while “equipment to support digital communication is claimable where it relates to parliamentary work”, it is down to MPs to explain the specific parliamentary reasons behind the purchases.
Zarah Sultana used taxpayer funds to purchase a ring light, among other digital products
www.telegraph.co.uk