Conservatives jeered at Sir Keir Starmer over the so-called Beergate saga, as a Tory MP joked that the Labour leader was suffering from “karma” over his Partygate attacks.
Backbencher Graham Stuart put the boot into over the Durham Police probe into the takeaway curry eaten at event last April – telling Starmer “the only thing opening up for him in the north is a police investigation”.
Mr Stuart also joked that “never in the history of human conflict has so much karma come from a korma” –prompting further laughter from the Tory benches.
The Tory MP added: “Free beer and cash were the electoral controversies then, as opposed to say, beer and curry today.”
Starmer was seen grinning at the remarks, but deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner did not smile and shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy shook her head.
It followed a terse exchange between Boris Johnson and Starmer as they walked into the Lords chamber together for Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech.
The prime minister appeared to taunt the Labour leader by saying “nice weekend?” – an apparent reference to renewed pressure on Starmer over the takeaway eaten with Labour staff while campaigning in Durham.
Mr Johnson and his opposite number were filmed smiling and engaging in apparent small talk as they walked side by side in a procession of MPs on Tuesday.
It comes after Sir Keir said on Monday he will do the “right thing” and quit if he is issued with a fixed penalty notice in relation to a gathering in Labour offices.
At the weekend, the Mail on Sunday published a leaked memo indicating the dinner had been planned as part of Sir Keir’s itinerary for a day of campaigning, and no further work was scheduled afterwards.
Starmer’s move has been viewed as a bold gamble, with the opposition leader placing his future in the hands of Durham Police after it was announced last week officers would reopen an investigation into the event, where he drank beer and ate curry.
The Labour party has sought to contrast Sir Keir’s actions with those of the PM – who has refused to quit after being fined by the Met Police over a gathering in No 10 in June 2020 to mark his 56th birthday.
In his response to the Queen’s Speech, Starmer congratulated Mr Johnson on becoming the “first resident of Downing Street” to be resident of a Labour council, after the Tories lost Westminster at the local elections.
In her own post-Queen’s Speech comments, Conservative Fay Jones welcomed the Online Safety Bill “which will protect the unsuspecting farmer from nefarious internet videos” – a joke about departing Tory MP Neil Parish being caught watching porn.
