Sir Keir Starmer has said he will quit as Labour leader, if he is found to have breached lockdown rules by having a bottle of beer and a curry in Durham last year.
On Friday, police confirmed that they were reinvestigating claims an evening event attended by Sir Keir along with senior party figures and activists at City of Durham MP Mary Foy's office may have broken social distancing regulations. The coronavirus rules in place when the drinks took place on April 30 last year meant it was illegal in England to socialise indoors with people from outside one's own household or support bubble.
Read more: Durham Police to investigate Sir Keir Starmer over 'beergate' allegations
Sir Keir - who has previously called for Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to resign over attending Downing Street lockdown events - drank beer and ate curry at the event. Labour have said the food was consumed between work meetings, meaning it was within the rules.
At a hastily arranged press conference this afternoon, Sir Keir reiterated that "no rules were broken", he said: "I'm 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."
Sir Keir said his accusers were "trying to feed cynicism, to get the public to believe all politicians are the same", in the wake of Mr Johnson's partygate fine.
But, the Labour leader said if Durham Police did issue him with a fixed penalty notice he would do "the right thing" and resign.
He said: "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."
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