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Sir Keir Starmer says he will step down as Labour leader if he is fined for breaking Covid rules
Newly unearthed footage showed the Labour leader drinking a beer in an MPs office when Covid rules limited indoor socialising
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will resign as Labour leader if he is fined by police for breaking Covid rules.
The opposition leader has been under increasing pressure after police announced they would be investigating an event at which he drank beer at an MP’s office in 2021.
Footage of the event, obtained by the Mail on Sunday, showed Starmer drinking a beer with colleagues in Durham last April, when Covid rules restricted household mixing indoors apart from work situations.
And while he has continuously stressed that no rules were broken because he was ‘working in an office’ at the time, he has today said he will step down as Labour leader if the police decide to fine him.
In a press conference this afternoon, Starmer said, as per Sky News: “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them.
“I believe that politicians who undermine that principle undermine trust in politics, undermine our democracy and undermine Britain.
“I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election.
“But if the police decide to issue me with a Fixed Penalty Notice I would, of course, do the right thing and step down.”
He added: “This matters, it matters because the British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them.
“They deserve politicians who hold themselves to the highest standards… and who put the country first rather than themselves.
“They will always, always get that from me.”
When taking questions following his statement, Starmer again stressed that he believed ‘no rules were broken’, saying that he had been ‘absolutely clear about that’.
“I’ve set out today the in principle position that I believe in. Unlike those at Downing Street, I don’t think those who make the laws can simply breach them and not take action.
“I believe that if you’ve made a law you should respect it.”