Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has criticised comments made by the Chief Executive of Scottish Events Campus, Peter Duthie, who has downplayed the seriousness of ticket touts ripping off genuine fans from seeing their favourite artists.
It was reported that whilst speaking at a Glasgow Chamber of Commerce event, Mr Duthie stated that ticket touts ‘get a bit of a bad press’ and didn’t believe that fans were being ‘ripped off’ by touts who resell tickets at exorbitant prices.
Mr Newlands raised this issue with the Leader of House, urging the sector to take action to prevent ticket touts from being able to exploit genuine fans.
Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: “I’m extremely disappointed to hear Peter Duthie’s comments on ticket touting. This is a bigger problem that just a ‘bit of bad press’. Whether its concerts, sporting events or shows, the public are being ripped off by ticket touts, and some unscrupulous secondary ticketing websites, making a massive profit from hugely inflated prices.
“With Competition and Markets Authority currently investigating breaches in consumer law and the UK Government having established an official review under Prof Mike Waterson, the regulators and politicians are finally taking the issue seriously.
“As well as personally raising it in the House of Commons, ticket touting has also been brought up by numerous MPs and Peers, in addition to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. I would hope that someone like the chief executive of the Scottish Events Campus, who is responsible for some of the biggest events in Scotland, would also treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves, instead of blaming fans.”