Badenoch Declares £8,177 Gift for Meeting with Rupert Murdoch in Greece

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has declared gifts totaling £8,177 for travel and accommodation expenses incurred during a meeting with media mogul Rupert Murdoch in Greece. Badenoch, her husband Hamish, and shadow minister Alex Burghart traveled to Athens on August 24, with the costs covered by News Corp UK.

A spokesperson for Badenoch stated that the visit has been fully declared and emphasized her value for engagement with major British media organizations and their leadership. The spokesperson added that Badenoch intends to continue advocating for a free and independent press.

The declared gifts, published in the latest register of members' financial interests, include flights from Rome to Athens and back to London valued at approximately £4,000, ground transportation and transfers amounting to £1,752.50, and accommodation costing £2,425.45.

Badenoch described the purpose of the trip as "off-site meetings with Mr K R Murdoch and other senior executives from News Corp and News UK." Alex Burghart, the Conservative shadow Northern Ireland secretary, also attended the meeting and registered a gift of £4,088.97 for his expenses.

This meeting occurred shortly after Badenoch's engagement with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. Badenoch previously met with Rupert Murdoch and other News Corp executives in 2022 when she served as an international trade minister.

Rupert Murdoch stepped down as News Corp chair in 2023, assuming the role of chairman emeritus. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, now serves as chair of the company, which owns media outlets including The Sun, The Times, TalkSport, and Virgin Radio.

Politicians in the UK have historically sought to maintain relationships with Murdoch. In 2011, former Prime Minister Tony Blair became godfather to Murdoch's daughter. Murdoch's publications have shown shifting political allegiances over the decades, having supported the Conservative Party in the 1980s and early 1990s, switched to backing the Labour Party in 1997, and returning to support the Conservatives in 2010. More recently, in 2024, The Times, Sunday Times, and The Sun endorsed Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party.