Labor will change the ministerial code in the wake of the giveaway scandal

On Sunday, McFadden said Labor would “make clear further in the ministerial code that both ministers and shadow ministers should be subject to the same declaration principles”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura programme, Kuenssberg added: “This was a loophole in the Tory law, introduced in order to organize an event where a Tory minister, as was the case under the previous government, the opposite Labor shadow number would also be there and a Tory minister he won’t have to propose.

“That was the Tory policy, we don’t think it’s fair so we will close that loophole so that ministers and shadow ministers are treated the same in the future.”

It is unclear how Labor will change the rules. One option could be to force ministers to include all hospitality on the register of MPs’ interests, regardless of whether they attended the event as a government representative.

Transparency data published quarterly by departments is already broken down by minister, meaning you can see who attended each event.

Speaking to the BBC, Mordaunt denied the idea that the rules were looser for members of the government.

She said: “What Pat McFadden has just said is completely untrue and he clearly has no understanding of the ministerial code at all. The obligations placed on ministers are and have been much more stringent and I, as minister, reported monthly on my hospitality reports.”