Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to resign as leader of the Labour party if he is fined over an allegation he broke covid laws. The MP said in a statement he would do “the right thing and step down” if police take action over claims he breached the rules by having beer and a curry at a campaign event.
The opposition leader repeatedly denied breaking the laws in a televised statement on Monday afternoon as he faces pressure over the gathering in April last year. He accused the Conservatives accusing him of breaking lockdown rules of “trying to feed cynicism to get the public to believe all politicians are the same”.
“But if the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice I would of course do the right thing and step down,” he said. Speaking at party headquarters in London, the Labour leader said that he did not believe that the rules had been broken at the gathering at Labour Party offices in Durham.
But he added: “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the rules must follow them.” After pledging to step down if issued with a fixed-penalty notice, Sir Keir said: “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.”
He stressed he had taken a “very different” course of action from the Prime Minister when Partygate first broke. Asked if it was hypocritical to have not already resigned after having called for the Prime Minister to resign in a tweet in January when the Partygate police investigation opened, Sir Keir said: “I have set out my position very clearly.
“I have taken a very different course to the Prime Minister, who of course did break the laws and then didn’t resign. I am setting out a very different course, I have different principles to the Prime Minister and I think it is very important that the public see not all politicians are the same.
“I am very different to the Prime Minister in this regard in terms of the principle, the honour and the integrity of the office that I hold."
He said politicians who did not accept they should resign if they break the rules undermined trust in democracy. “I believe that politicians who undermine that principle, undermine trust in politics, undermine our democracy and undermine Britain,” he said.
“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.
“If the police decided to issue me with a fixed penalty notice I would course do the right thing and step down.”
After his statement at Labour’s headquarters in London, Sir Keir was asked by Sky News political editor Beth Rigby why it took him so long to set out his position. The Labour leader said: “No rules were broken.
"I have been absolutely clear about that from start to finish. And I have set out today the in principle position that I believe in. Unlike those at Downing Street, I don’t think those that make the laws can then simply breach them and not take action.
“I believe that if you’ve made a law you should respect the law. And if you’re found to be in breach of it, you should step down and that’s what I’ve set out clearly this afternoon.”
He would not directly address the question of whether he was right to call for Boris Johnson to resign when he was under investigation for breaking the rules. Asked if he jumped the gun in calling for the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s resignations when they were only under investigation for breaking the rules, Sir Keir said: “I’m setting out my position in relation to the events of the last few days.
“The Prime Minister has chosen not to resign, notwithstanding that, not only has he broken the law that he made, but 50 fines being imposed in relation to the workplace that he is responsible for. That is his choice. But it’s very important that the public don’t think that all politicians are the same and that is why I have set out my position in terms of honour and integrity.”
Asked again about the Prime Minister not having been found guilty at the time Sir Keir called for him to quit, the Labour leader said: “He’s been found guilty, he’s been found to be in breach of the law. I think over 50 fines now in relation to Downing Street, and the Prime Minister has not stepped down.
“He and others in his party want the public to believe that we’re all the same, that we’ll all act in that way. I’m here to make clear that is not the case.”
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner also said she will resign if she is fined by police for breaking lockdown regulations. She said in a statement: “I’ve always been clear that I was at the event in Durham working in my capacity as deputy leader and that no rules were broken.
“Eating during a long day’s work was not against the rules. We have a Prime Minister who has been found to have broken the rules, lied about it and then been fined.
“If I were issued with a fine, I would do the decent thing and step down.”
On Friday, Durham Constabulary said they had reversed an earlier decision on the case that no offence had been committed, after receiving “significant new information”. In January, Sir Keir said the Prime Minister “needs to do the decent thing and resign” after he became embroiled in lockdown breach allegations.
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.
Labour argues the food was consumed between work events, meaning it was within the rules.
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