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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Elly Blake

Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner return ‘beergate’ questionnaires

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner (Danny Lawson/PA) (Picture: PA Wire)

Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have returned questionnaires to police investigating whether they broke Covid-19 regulations, a Labour party spokesman has said.

Durham Constabulary are looking into whether the rules were violated after Sir Keir was caught on camera drinking a beer in an MP’s office after a day of campaigning for the local elections in Durham in April 2021.

Both the Labour leader and his deputy say they will stand down from their roles if they are issued with fixed-penalty notices.

(PA Archive)

At the time of the gathering, non-essential retail and outdoor venues including pub gardens were open.

However, social distancing rules, which included a ban on indoor mixing between households, remained in place.

But Labour has argued that food was consumed between work events, meaning it was within the rules.

Last month, Durham Constabulary announced they had reversed an earlier decision that no offence had been committed, after receiving “significant new information”.

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