A spokeswoman from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport told BBC News they would not go into details about why one particular minister was given tickets to a particular event or why the amount of money spent on tickets had gone up since November 2011.

"We were clear that we wanted to make the most of hosting the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as a driver for growth, and decided that it was right to invest in order to maximise the economic benefits for the country," she added.

"The government paid-for tickets were used to invite and accompany a number of international and domestic political and business leaders, as well as guests with a close connection to the Games and its legacy.