Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner have pledged to resign if they are fined following allegations they broke covid laws. Both attended a gathering involving beer and curry at the party headquarters in Durham during the campaign trail in April last year.
Initially police said they would not be investigating the claims. However on Friday they announced they had reversed an earlier decision on the case that no offence had been committed, after receiving “significant new information”.
On Monday the opposition leader, who had previously said Prime Minister Boris Johnson “needs to do the decent thing and resign” after he became embroiled in lockdown breach allegations, made a statement following the police decision.
Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and the Chancellor received fines for breaking Covid laws in April, along with dozens others working in Whitehall and Downing Street. At the time of the Durham gathering, non-essential retail and outdoor venues including pub gardens were open, but social distancing rules – which included a ban on indoor mixing between households – remained in place.
But Labour argues the food was consumed between work events, meaning it was within the rules. this is what Mr Starmer had to say in his statement in full.
“Ever since the first Covid lockdown, I have always followed the rules. In that time, the British people have made heart- wrenching sacrifices. People were left desperately lonely, they were separated from family and friends. Tragically, many were unable to see dying loved ones. This was a collective sacrifice.
“People were entitled to expect that politicians would follow the same rules as everyone else. When my mother-in-law passed away suddenly just before the lockdown, my wife and I were unable to provide her father with the support we wanted to afterwards, because we followed the rules.
“Barely a day has passed where we haven’t agonised over that decision. But we did it because we follow the rules. We all found the rules frustrating at times, and I’m no exception to that. I had to isolate six times during Covid, pulling me away from my work and the things that I love.
“But I did it because we followed the rules. The idea that I would then casually break those rules is wrong. And frankly, I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves. They are just trying to feed cynicism, to get the public to believe all politicians are the same.
“I am here to say that they’re not. I believe in honour, integrity, and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them. And I believe that politicians who undermine that principle, undermine trust in politics, undermine our democracy, and undermine Britain.
“I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election. But if the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and step down.
“This matters. It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them. They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards. And they deserve politicians who put the country first rather than themselves. They will always, always get that from me. Thank you.”
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
