London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Former police chief condemns pressure to investigate Keir Starmer’s office beer

Former police chief condemns pressure to investigate Keir Starmer’s office beer

Michael Barton says those pushing for action, such as Tory MPs and rightwing papers, are using policing as a ‘political football’
Durham’s former police chief has condemned attempts to get his former force to investigate Keir Starmer over allegations of Covid rule-breaking as “hypocritical” and “dangerous” and said there is no evidence the Labour leader flouted the law.

Michael Barton, chief constable of Durham until 2019, said the pressure on police to investigate was politically motivated. In his time in charge, Durham was rated as one of the best-performing police forces.

Though the Labour leader initially struggled to answer questions about the event in interviews, he said Durham police had not contacted him about drinking a beer and eating a takeaway with staff in a constituency office last year, as he said he was always “very careful” to abide by lockdown rules.

Labour said the takeaway was necessary for campaign staff, who carried on working while eating. But reports have questioned the volume of food and alcohol supplied as well as Labour’s claim there were no alternative options for dinner.

Barton said of those pressing police to investigate, including Conservative MPs and rightwing newspapers: “They are using operational policing as a political football, which is dangerous and ought to be condemned.

“For the same people who said Dominic Cummings had done nothing wrong to demand police action is both hypocritical and dangerous. It means operational policing is being dragged into a political minefield.”

He said all the circumstances around Starmer were hugely different to those surrounding Boris Johnson’s law-breaking.

Barton said: “The only reason that those offences should be looked at in retrospect is if the people who made the laws, broke the laws. That is why it was crucial the gatherings in Westminster were investigated.”

He likened those demanding Starmer be investigated to malicious neighbours plaguing police with vexatious complaints: “All forces saw calls on neighbours increase during Covid from people using Covid as cover for longstanding disputes. That’s what this is.

“Just because someone is drinking beer does not mean it is a social gathering. There is no rule against alcohol.”

Starmer said the food had been ordered as the staff prepared an online event for members. “In Durham, all restaurants and pubs were closed, so takeaways really were the only way you could eat. So this was brought in and at various points people went through to the kitchen and had something to eat, and got on with their work,” he said.

He added: “We were very careful to abide by the rules … and we did it within my family. My wife’s father is very elderly and had to shield in difficult circumstances that I won’t go into. My wife went and sat on the pavement outside his house. All she wanted to do, like many families, is she wanted to go in and clean and she didn’t because the rules didn’t allow her. So I know what that feels like.”

Starmer has previously accused the Tories of “mudslinging” over their allegations that he broke Covid rules, in order to distract from the prime minister’s own lawbreaking, for which he was issued a fixed-penalty notice.

Johnson paid a fine for attending his birthday party in June 2020, and is still under investigation over his alleged attendance at several other parties.

A spokesperson for the Durham force earlier 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.”

The force subsequently confirmed it had received a large volume of correspondence on the matter and would respond in due course.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
×