Following the Prime Minister’s ‘partygate’ Keir Starmer is under fire for allegedly breaking lockdown rules in what has been dubbed ‘beergate’.
On Monday, May 9, the Labour leader said he would resign from his position if he received a fixed penalty notice for allegedly breaking lockdown rules last year. But how did it get to this?
What is ‘Beergate’?
On April 30, 2021 – when COVID rules banned household mixing indoors, apart from working – Starmer was spotted through the window of Durham Miners Hall, with his fellow campaigners drinking and eating curry.
The footage was filmed by Ivo Delingpole, the student son of the Breitbart writer James Delingpole. Subsequently the video was passed on to the anti-lockdown activist Laurence Fox who made it go viral and was ended up being dubbed ‘beergate’ – similar to the PMs ‘partygate’ where Boris Johnson, Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak were among those fined a fixed penalty notice for breaking lockdown.
The 59-year-old leader denies he broke the rules and said: ‘As I’ve explained a number of times, I was working in the office, we stopped for something to eat, there was no party, no breach of the rules.’
The memo and investigation
However, doubt has recently been cast on the MPs version of events after the Mail on Sunday a document which stated there would be a ‘dinner in Miners Hall’ with City of Durham MP Mary Foy from 8.40pm to 10pm.
Over the weekend Durham Police said they would be launching an investigation into the alleged rule-breaking after a spokesperson released a statement saying: ‘Earlier this year, Durham Constabulary carried out an assessment as to whether Covid-19 regulations had been breached at a gathering in Durham City on April 30 2021. At that time, it was concluded that no offence had been established and therefore no further action would be taken.
‘Following the receipt of significant new information over recent days, Durham Constabulary has reviewed that position and now, following the conclusion of the pre-election period, we can confirm that an investigation into potential breaches of COVID-19 regulations relating to this gathering is now being conducted.’
A promise to resign
Unlike the PM, who has refused to resign following being found guilty of breaking the rules and fined – and called on by the bereaved to do so – Starmer spoke in a conference yesterday during which he said he would resign should the police fine him for breaking the rules.
He said: ‘I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them. I believe that politicians who undermine that principle undermine trust in politics, undermine democracy, undermine Britain.
‘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.
‘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.’