Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of “mud-slinging” over allegations he broke lockdown rules after a photograph emerged of him drinking a beer with staff in a constituency office last year. Asked if there had been any contact from Durham police in recent weeks, the Labour leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The police looked at this months ago and came to a clear conclusion that was ‘no rules were broken’, and that’s because no rules were broken.” Starmer said: “We were working in the office, it was just before elections, we were busy, we paused for food … there was no party, no rules were broken, that is the long and the short of it.” He added that “all that has happened in the past week is that with local elections on the horizon, Conservative MPs have decided to chuck mud”. But when asked repeatedly specifically whether there was contact between himself and Durham constabulary, Starmer did not confirm whether this was the case or not, but instead repeated that “no rules were broken”. Footage emerged of the Labour leader drinking a beer with colleagues in April 2021 while coronavirus restrictions were in place. In February, Durham police confirmed they did not believe any offence had been committed. A spokesperson for the force had said: “Durham constabulary has reviewed video footage recorded in Durham on 30 April 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.”
Speaking on Sky News, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, said officers should revisit the allegation, adding that if the police “consider a fixed penalty notice should be issued then clearly that would be the tool available to them to do so”. Regarding the allegation, she said: “I understand that there is some work ongoing and I would absolutely encourage them to look at it.” She added: “I’d like Durham constabulary to look at everything and to – if they felt a fixed penalty notice was the appropriate statement of conclusion of it in the same way the Metropolitan police have here for a number of people who were in Downing Street at events that had been deemed unsuitable – then what I would want to see is that same fixed penalty notice.”