Beergate: Labour Leaders Starmer, Rayner Threaten to Quit If Fined for Breaking Lockdown

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 16: Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer (R) and Deputy
Rob Pinney/Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer along with Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, have both threatened to quit their positions if they are fined for breaking lockdown rules last year in Durham.

Sir Keir has been under investigation by Durham Constabulary over allegations that he broke coronavirus lockdown rules by having a beer with colleagues in April of last year during a campaign event. He has claimed he did not violate the rules.

“The idea that I would… casually break those rules is wrong. And frankly, I do not think those who accuse me of breaking the rules believe it themselves,” Sir Keir told the British press during a statement  at Labour HQ in London on Monday and added: “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who break the laws must follow them.”

“If the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and step down,” Sir Keir said, The Telegraph reports.

“This matters. It matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them,” the Labour leader said.

“They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards, and they deserve politicians who put the country first, rather than themselves.”

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner echoed Starmer’s statement, saying she too would resign from her role if fined by police.

“Eating during a long day’s work was not against the rules. We have a Prime Minister who has been found to have broken the rules, lied about it and then been fined. If I were issued with a fine, I would do the decent thing and step down,” she claimed.

Sir Keir had previously championed the strict lockdown measures enacted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, even going as far as stating that it was “reckless” of Johnson to lift lockdown restrictions in July of last year, just months after he allegedly violated them himself.

“To throw off all protections at the same time, when the infection rate is still going up, is reckless. We need a balanced approach. We need to keep key protections in place, including masks, including ventilation,” Sir Keir said.

Both Sir Keir and Rayner have also been critical of alleged lockdown violations made by Prime Minister Johnson and other members of the government.

Last month, Prime Minister Johnson apologized for breaking lockdown rules in 2020 during a surprise birthday party at 10 Downing Street, claiming “it did not occur to me then or subsequently that a gathering in the Cabinet Room, just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules.”

Sir Keir , meanwhile, called the apology “a joke” and said Johnson “knows he´s dishonest and incapable of changing.”

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

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