KEIR Starmer has announced he will resign as Labour leader if he is handed a fixed penalty notice by Durham police for breaking Covid rules.
The opposition leader made a statement at 4pm on Monday in London confirming he would step down if fined in contrast to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has remained in post despite attending an illegal gathering in Downing Street in June 2020.
Cops launched an investigation on Friday after Starmer was filmed having a drink and curry with colleagues at an MP's office in Durham in April last year, when rules banned households mixing indoors apart from for work purposes.
Starmer said he was working and stopped to eat, and it was decided to order curry on the night as "nowhere served food", but police are probing the event after a leaked memo revealed it was pre-planned.
Previously police said they did not believe an offence had been committed.
The Conservatives have accused Starmer of "rank double standards" after he called for Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to quit over the partygate scandal.
He said in his speech: "I am adamant no laws were broken, they were followed at all times.
"I had something to eat when working late in the evening but if the police decided to issue me a fixed penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and step down.
"This matters because the British public deserves politicians who think the rules apply to them. They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards. They will always get that from me.
"I believe in honour, integrity, and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them.
"I had to isolate six times during Covid, pulling me away from my work and the things I love, but I did it because we followed the rules. The idea I would casually break those rules is wrong, and I don’t’ think those accusing me believe it themselves."
When asked by journalists, Starmer did not make it clear what he will do if police don't fine him retrospectively but conclude that he did infringe the rules, as they did with Dominic Cummings.
He said his accusers were "just trying to feed cynicism" about politicians.
Deputy leader Angela Rayner also confirmed she would step down if issued with a fine.
