Keir Starmer cleared of breaking lockdown rules by having a beer while working on a by-election
dailyrecord.co.ukKeir Starmer has been cleared of breaking lockdown rules after he was filmed drinking a beer in an office. The Labour leader was accused by the Tories of a breach of the rules as Boris Johnson tried to throw some mud around as he faced accusations of attending lockdown parties in Downing Street.
The Labour leader was pictured in the an office in Durham working in the run-up to the Hartlepool byelection in April 2021.He insisted he did nothing wrong, despite comparisons by his opponents to the “partygate” allegations at 10 Downing Street.He explained at the time of the picture being printed “The restrictions allowed people to work when they needed to.
We were running an election campaign, we were in a constituency office.”He said no restaurants or pubs were open and the hotel in which he and colleagues were staying did not serve food, so “if you didn’t get a takeaway then our team wasn’t eating that evening”.Starmer said: “We didn’t break any rules, we were working in the office and we stopped for a takeaway.
We did nothing wrong.”Durham police confirmed they did not believe any offence was committed.A spokesperson for the force said: “Durham constabulary has reviewed video footage recorded in Durham on April 30 2021.“We do not believe an offence has been established in relation to the legislation and guidance in place at that time and will therefore take no further action in relation to this matter.” To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
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