Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader and today’s Loose Women host denied that he was a Covid hypocrite in relation to his Beergate row.
Sir Keir, who was grilling him over his Durham boozy curry last year, insisted that he hadn’t broken Coronavirus rules.
The Friday evening gathering of April 2021 is currently under investigation by police.
Sir Keir, pictured drinking a beer with co-workers at what Labour repeatedly called a “work event”, was seen enjoying a takeaway.
Labour’s leader is taking a risk on his future. He has promised to step down as party head if Durham Police fines him for violating Covid rules.
Loose Women heard him tell Loose Women today that he had “put everything on line” by promising to resign in the event he is issued a Fixed Penalty Note.
Sir Keir said that he felt that he needed to resign from the moment the news of his police investigation was made.
He sought again to make a distinction between his own claims of lockdown-breaking, and Boris Johnson’s Partygate scandal.
After being fined by the police for his 56th birthday celebration in Number 10, June 2020, Prime Minister Cameron refused to answer calls from Tory MPs and Opposition parties calling him out.
Sir Keir Starmer today told Loose Women how he had ‘put everything on the line’ by pledging to resign if he receives a Fixed Penalty Notice
As he sipped a beer with coworkers, Labour leader in April 2013 at what Labour repeatedly claimed was a “work event”, was captured.
According to Labour’s leader, he stated that if police issue a fixed sentence notice, he would do right and he would step down.
I have done everything because that’s the right thing.
“That’s the exact opposite of the Prime Minister.”
Sir Keir was asked why he hadn’t resigned about the Durham Police investigation. He had earlier called for the resignation of the PM for being under police scrutiny.
Labour leader said that Operation Hillman, the Metropolitan Police investigation into number 10 lockdown breachings was an entirely different circumstance.
“By that time we knew there was an industrial scale rule-breaking on Downing Street,” the Labour leader declared.
“We’d had many such examples including that of the wheelbarrow full of alcohol coming in and the luggage coming in on the day of Prince Philip’s funeral. It was quite a different scenario.”
According to a recent poll, 63% believe that Sir Keir has hypocrisy in attacking the PM for violating Covid rules while he could have done a similar offense.
Redfield Strategies and Wilton Strategies also found that more than half of respondents (56%) believed Sir Keir likely or definitely broke lockdown rules in relation to the Durham curry.
61% said that if Labour’s leader quits over Beergate then Johnson should also.
Sir Keir claimed he was confident that the police would catch him breaking Covid restrictions.
When he was told that it wasn’t up to him decide whether he had violated the rules, Labour leader said: “I know.”
“But I had an instinct. As soon as I saw that Durham Police was going to reopen the investigation, I knew in my heart what I was going say. It is, “If I am wrong and they have found me to be violating the law, I will do the right thing.
He said, “I wish that it’s not going to happen. I don’t believe it’s going to happen.”
“But I am trying to make the greater point here, because there have been allegations about who did it when.” However, trust in politics is the bigger picture.
Sir Keir claimed his pledge to resign was motivated by an attempt to maintain ‘honour and integrity’ in British politics.
He said: ‘The number of times I hear: “You’re all the same, you won’t do the right thing”.
I believe that trust is the most important thing in politics. I have put everything on the line for that honour and that integrity because I don’t believe all politicians are the same.
‘It is important we don’t sink into this where everybody thinks all politicians are the same, because then people lose trust in democracy and think: “Why should I vote if you’re all the same?”
“This isn’t just about the allegations. It’s about my character as a politician.
‘I came into politics later in life having done other things, I came in to make a difference, and I want to show that we’re not all the same.’
After sharing beers and a takeaway in Durham during the lead-up to the local elections in Hartlepool and Hartlepool, the Labour leader insists that he and his fellow Labour leaders have returned to their jobs.
Loose Women heard from him that “every campaigning politician” would be in a similar position where they could share food with other people while driving.
England was still in Step 2 at the time the Durham event took place. This meant that people could not gather indoors with others, and it had been banned from doing so during the Durham event.
There was however an exception for “work purposes”.
According to reports, Durham Police will now contact 15 of the people who were present at the event on April 30, 2013.