Police face demands to look again at Keir Starmer ‘beer bash’ as Tories complain lockdown rules are being ‘inconsistently’ enforced after Boris was fined
- Keir Starmer was pictured in officer of Durham MP drinking a beer in April 2021
- Durham Constabulary previously rejected an offence was committed at the time
- However, Richard Holden MP wrote to the force asking them to reconsider
- Mr Holden shared a letter from the police and said the door had been left open
- Nadine Dorries said there was lack of consistency in interpretation of regulations
Police are facing demands to look again at an event where Keir Starmer was seen clutching a beer during lockdown.
Durham Constabulary previously rejected the idea an offence was committed in April 2021 when Sir Keir was pictured in the office of City of Durham MP Mary Foy in the run-up to the Hartlepool by-election.
However, Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, wrote to the force last week asking them to reconsider in light of the Metropolitan Police’s decision to fine the Prime Minister and Chancellor for attending Boris Johnson’s birthday bash in Downing Street.
Mr Holden shared a letter from the Durham force’s deputy chief constable on social media, which contained the line: ‘I will make inquiries with the investigation team and will update you at the point at which I have been able to conclude those inquiries.’
The MP tweeted that police had left the door open to ‘re-examining the case’.
Responding to Mr Holden, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: Absolutely right. A lack of consistency in interpretation of the regulations needs examining – urgently.’
However, a spokesman for Durham Constabulary suggested that they had replied out of ‘courtesy’.
Sir Keir Starmer was photographed enjoying a beer while mixing with party workers in a constituency office in Durham after a day on the campaign trail in April 2021
Richard Holden MP tweeted a picture of the letter he received from Durham Constabulary and claimed the door had been left open to ‘re-examining the case’
Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, wrote to Durham Constabulary last week asking them to reconsider in light of the Metropolitan Police’s decision to fine the Prime Minister and Chancellor for attending Boris Johnson’s birthday bash in Downing Street
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said a ‘lack of consistency’ in interpretation of the regulations needed an ‘urgent’ examination
‘[We] were sent a letter by Richard Holden MP on April 22,’ the spokesman said.
‘As a courtesy, we have replied to Mr Holden to confirm we have received that letter and will consider its contents before responding in due course.’
A Labour spokesman said: ‘I think some of the characterisation of the letter has been inaccurate.’ He added that the gathering had been a ‘work event’.
Put to him that the police were ‘re-examining’ the investigation, he said: ‘I wouldn’t characterise the letter in that way.’
Mr Holden’s original letter to Durham Constabulary, which he also shared on social media, said the pictures of Sir Keir came at a time when indoor mixing between households was banned, and the location ‘was not the usual workplace of Sir Keir Starmer’.
The MP wrote: ‘The Metropolitan Police has since issued a fixed penalty notice to a number of politicians in relation to an event inside the Downing Street Cabinet Room on June 19 2020, where individuals may have briefly celebrated a birthday at a work event.
‘In light of that decision, and the tests applied by the Metropolitan Police for the level of a covid regulations breach, I believe there is a strong public interest in Durham Constabulary reviewing its decision not to investigate the Starmer incident further.’
Sir Keir insisted he did nothing wrong, despite comparisons by his opponents to the partygate allegations at 10 Downing Street
Sir Keir was in the City of Durham MP’s office, working in the run-up to the Hartlepool by-election in April 2021.
He has insisted he did nothing wrong, despite comparisons by his opponents to the partygate allegations at 10 Downing Street.
When the images emerged in January, Sir Keir said: ‘We stopped for something to eat and then we carried on working. No party, no breach of the rules and absolutely no comparison with the Prime Minister.’
Durham police confirmed in February they did not believe any offence was committed and cleared Sir Keir of breaching any rules after watching footage from the event.
But the force was put under pressure to reopen the case after Scotland Yard began handing out fixed-penalty notices to politicians and officials for breaking Covid laws while working in Downing Street and Whitehall.
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