Mail on Sunday

MPs have been given free World Cup tickets by fast-food giant McDonald's - to the fury of ordinary fans who face being locked out of England's matches.

The politicians asked the company for seats to watch England's opening game against Paraguay on Saturday - the tickets they and their Commons researchers received now command more than £1,000 each on the black market.

The Parliamentary Football Club, whose members include Health Minister Andy Burn-ham and Pensions Minister James Purnell, secured the coveted tickets after approaching McDonald's, despite its role in the long-running storm over healthy eating.

The Parliamentary Football Club, whose members include Health Minister Andy Burn-ham and Pensions Minister James Purnell, secured the coveted tickets after approaching McDonald's, despite its role in the long-running storm over healthy eating.

News of the MPs' freebies brought a furious response from English supporters last night. More than 100,000 are travelling to Germany for the tournament, but of the 48,000 tickets available for the Paraguay match, only 5,349 have been allocated to English fans.

Mark Perryman, from the official England Supporters Club, said it was a scandal that ordinary fans were locked out of the Frankfurt stadium while MPs were getting in for free.

He said: "I have a simple question for the MPs: Have they raised in Parliament the issue of the scandalous ticket allocations? If they have, they are hypocrites for taking sponsors' tickets. If they haven't, then shame on them for not raising it."

The revelation about the free tickets comes amid an international row over the way big business has snapped up the tournament's best seats. As sponsor, McDonald's has been given 25,000 tickets to give to clients across the tournament.

McDonald's admitted it had given tickets to 12 MPs and a similar number of researchers - but only after the MPs had asked for them.

"The MPs attending are from the Parliamentary football team,' a spokeswoman said. 'As a FIFA World Cup sponsor we were approached by the team to provide match tickets."

The MPs' football group claims the main purpose of its trip to Germany is to play charity matches against local politicians and journalists.

Two years ago, the same Parliamentary group was severely criticised for taking a £25,000 junket to Euro 2004 at McDonald's expense when the Government had just launched a drive for people to eat less junk food.

Malcolm Clarke, from the Football Supporters' Federation, said: "Companies such as McDonald's obviously do this because it gives them power to influence the legislators. We'd much rather the tickets went to ordinary fans."

Clive Betts, the Labour chairman of the football club, who will be going to Germany, last night defended their trip - by saying the group had raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Asked if he understood the frustration of ordinary fans, he said: "You are saying that. I am merely saying that we raise money for charity on a regular basis."

He later added: "I understand the concerns of fans, but they should raise the issue with the Football Association."

McDonald's initially denied offering any 'corporate hospitality, travel or accommodation' to the football-loving MPs, insisting it was 'a self-funded, self-organised trip' for which they were providing 'standard tickets'.

But the company later admitted that it has given the MPs Category One tickets, which have a face value of £70 but have been selling for up to £1,000 on the black market. The seats are nearly three times as expensive as the standard £24 World Cup tickets at Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena, and command the best view.

McDonald's also asked FIFA to book the Parliamentary football group into Frankfurt's £230-a-night four-star Dorint Novotel hotel - complete with sauna, Turkish bath and swimming pool - for three nights.

The company twice denied any plans to entertain the MPs, but when pressed a third time the spokesman admitted: "McDonald's does not have any corporate hospitality for the match. However, I can confirm we have offered to take them for an informal meal at a local restaurant."

There was confusion last night over whether Purnell and Burnham, who were both promoted in last month's ministerial reshuffle, were among the MPs booked on the trip. The British Embassy in Berlin said it was expecting both Ministers in Germany on Friday, but Mr Betts said there were no Ministers on the trip.

Embassy Press Secretary Jonathan Brenton told The Mail on Sunday: "James Purnell was here in April to give a speech about European broadcasting law. He mentioned he was coming out to Germany to play against the Hesse state parliament with the All-Party Parliamentary Football Club. He said Andy Burn-ham was coming as well."

But last night, MPs' club chairman Mr Betts claimed the Ministers were now too busy to attend.

He said: "There are no Ministers going. I haven't necessarily done all the administrative arrangements, so I can't deny or confirm any specific changes in the nature of the party.

"[Purnell and Burnham's] new responsibilities mean they haven't played in the past couple of games in London either. You will have to deal with them on that."

Mr Purnell was not available for comment, but Mr Burnham said: "It has never, ever been on the cards that I am going. The Embassy must have my name down because I am on the Parliamentary football team. I decided I wasn't going to go because I think it wouldn't be right.

"I would love to be going, of course I would. But there is the issue of tickets for fans and the amount of tickets available for sponsors. For this World Cup, particularly, it doesn't seem a fair balance."

His wife Marie added: "I have three kids under six. Do you think I would let my husband disappear to the World Cup?"

Mr Betts said he could provide the names of only two other MPs, apart from himself, who were going to the match - Labour's Stephen Hepburn and Liberal Democrat John Leech. The team's coach, former England assistant manager Lawrie McMenemy, is also travelling with the party.

"I'm not going to give you the whole list of names because I don't have it," he said, adding that the cost of hotels and flights was being paid for by individual team members.

Mr Leech, a striker, was assistant manager at three McDonald's restaurants between 1995 and 1997.

He said: "I used to work for McDonald's so I don't have a problem with it. They do a lot of good work with the community. Those are tickets that McDonald's would have given away anyway, so I don't think it's stopped anyone getting tickets."

McDonald's has been criticised by health campaigners for its new World Cup burger, the Bigger Mac, which is 40 per cent larger than the Big Mac and contains 690 calories.

The MPs will play politicians from the Hesse regional assembly on Friday.

Then on Saturday morning they will play a team of sports journalists in a match sponsored by the National Grid, which will donate £7,000 to charity. The grid, a private company which transmits gas and electricity around Britain, is currently waiting for the outcome of a Department of Trade and Industry energy review.

Consular officials have helped organise the MPs' junket, including a meal following the match against the German politicians. But the match, in Heusenstamm, has been so hastily organised that there has not been enough time to publicise it, and the MPs will play to empty stands.

Peter Affee, of the local town council, said the first he knew of the friendly fixture was when he received a phone call from Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood asking if they could hire the stadium.

Mr Ellwood said he was not going on the trip, adding: "I was never going to go. I was simply asked to find them a game because I spoke German."

Asked who was going, he said: "I don't honestly know."

According to Hansard, the only MP to raise in the Commons the issue of ticket allocations is Peter Bone, the Conservative MP for Wellingborough - and Sven-Goran Eriksson lookalike - who is not going on the junket.