North West Durham MP Richard Holden has been accused of wasting police time by a Labour frontbencher and fellow North East politician.
The Conservative MP has been pushing for an investigation into Sir Keir Starmer drinking a beer with colleagues during Covid restrictions while on a visit to the North East last year.
But Bridget Phillipson, who is the Shadow Education secretary and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, has said Mr Holden was wrong to ask Durham Police to re-examine "this nonsense." And she has insisted Labour leader Sir Keir had not broken any rules.
Read more: Durham Police insists it is not investigating Keir Starmer over lockdown breach claims
Sir Keir has said there is a “stark contrast” between the gathering in Durham City MP Mary Foy's constituency office on April 30 last year and the rule-breaking in Downing Street that has seen Boris Johnson fined by police.
Mr Holden has asked police to reconsider its assessment that no offence was committed during the meeting.
Ms Philipson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Richard Holden should know better than to waste police time on this nonsense, they’ve got better things to be doing with their time. The police have looked into this matter, no rules were broken, nothing was done that wasn’t in line with the rules at the time, so really I think they better focus the efforts on dealing with the problems they have themselves than seeking to exaggerate what was clearly within the rules at the time.”
Mr Holden accused Labour of hypocrisy by suggesting investigating concerns about Covid breaches is a waste of police time “when it’s all we’ve heard from them for months”.
He added: “If I were a Labour politician, I’d think very carefully before shooting my mouth off and accusing people of criminal offences when it’s quite clear Labour politicians have not been truthful surrounding Sir Keir’s ‘event’ in Durham to date."
Tory MPs have been pressing police to reconsider their decision not to investigate the event following the fine issued to the Prime Minister for attending a gathering in Number 10 for his 56th birthday on June 19, 2020.
At the time of the April 30 gathering relating to Sir Keir, 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.
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