London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Keir Starmer should consider position if fined, says Diane Abbott

Keir Starmer should consider position if fined, says Diane Abbott

Sir Keir Starmer is facing further questions over whether he broke Covid lockdown rules at an MP's office in Durham, amid reports a leaked Labour memo suggested time was set aside for him to eat dinner with colleagues.

Durham police are investigating last April's event, when the Labour leader had beer and curry with others.

The Mail on Sunday published what it said was a memo showing timings for "dinner", before the visit would end.

Sir Keir insists no rules were broken.

A Labour spokesperson said he had eaten "between work demands".

A party source added that it would be "wrong to assume" activities during the visit occurred at the times originally planned.

Sir Keir was filmed drinking a bottle of beer in the constituency office of Durham MP Mary Foy last year, in the run-up to a by-election in nearby Hartlepool.

The Labour leader has maintained the visit was a work event, and that the food and drink was consumed in between doing work, so was within the rules.

But the internal planning document for the Durham trip apparently showed how an hour and twenty minutes were scheduled for "dinner" - after which, the visit would conclude.

The memo said a takeaway order would be placed by a member of Sir Keir's office from a nearby Indian restaurant for a meal between 20:40 and 22:00.

Covid rules in place at the time meant it was illegal for people in England to socialise indoors with people from outside their household or support bubble.

There was an exemption for "work purposes", although working from home was recommended in the guidance, but the rules did not mention socialising at work.

Describing the meal earlier this week, Sir Keir said that "at various points people went through to the kitchen, got a plate, had something to eat, and got on with their work". He has also previously insisted he returned to work afterwards.

Last week, Labour said Angela Rayner was also at the event, after previously denying she was there. It blamed a "mistake" in communication.


The real reason all this matters is less about what happened a year ago. And rather more about what Sir Keir Starmer has said since.

He has repeatedly expressed his outrage - shared by millions - at the behaviour of the prime minister and others in government in breaking the Covid rules.

And he's repeatedly called for Boris Johnson to resign.

Now his critics say if you get on a moral high horse, it might turn into a bucking bronco if you've broken the rules yourself.

Ministers I've spoken to are cock-a-hoop at this latest twist in this long running row about political conduct during Covid.

The Labour leader finds himself in a very perilous position.

Asked whether he would resign if fined, Sir Keir told reporters on Saturday: "I was working in the office. We stopped for something to eat. There was no party".

He said he would not resign and would lead Labour into the next general election.

Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Sir Keir should consider his position as Labour leader if he is fined by police for breaking Covid laws.

Ms Abbott told LBC radio that she didn't think he would be fined, and criticised "hype built up by the Tory press".

But she added that if he did receive a fixed penalty notice, he would have to "consider his position". She insisted she was a "loyal supporter" of Sir Keir's, and was simply making a "common-sense point".

Durham police had initially decided no offence had occurred after reviewing footage from the gathering earlier this year.

But after Thursday's local elections concluded, the force announced it would launch an investigation after receiving "significant new information".

The force had been coming under pressure to revisit the matter after Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined for attending a birthday party for the prime minister in Downing Street in June 2020.

Conservative MPs have also been calling for the force to launch a formal probe in recent days.

Sir Keir has urged Mr Johnson to resign since January, when the prime minister became embroiled in accusations Covid rules were broken during gatherings held in Whitehall during lockdown.

The Metropolitan Police are continuing their investigation into 12 gatherings held in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office during 2020 and 2021.

Asked what Sir Keir should do if he is fined, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Times Radio: "We've got to let the police carry out their investigation and that's only right and responsible.

"I do think, though, that the public will be uncomfortable with the hypocrisy.

"He has tweeted himself saying that if you're under investigation, a criminal investigation, then you should resign."


Watch: Footage shows Sir Keir Starmer drinking beer with colleagues in Durham on 30 April 2021


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×