LIES AND THE QUESTIONS THAT WON’T GO AWAY

Claim: There was nowhere else to eat

What Sir Keir says: In Durham, all restaurants and pubs were closed so takeaways were really the only way you could eat. The unanswered questions: Evidence suggests Sir Keir’s team had a number of dining options that evening. The Mail on Sunday established that the Radisson Blu hotel in Durham where Sir Keir was staying, served food on its terrace until 9pm. And although England was emerging from lockdown at the time, restrictions had been eased to allow pubs, cafes and restaurants to serve food outside to groups of six or fewer. Local newspaper coverage at the time suggests 13 restaurants and pubs were serving food within a 15-minute walk of Durham Miners Hall where he was working.

Claim: Event was ‘reasonably necessary for work’

What Sir Keir says: They were working and simply stopped to eat, there was no breach of the rules. The unanswered questions: Indoor socialising was illegal at the time. There was an exemption for indoor meetings during the local election campaign if they could be shown to be ‘reasonably necessary for work’. But guidance remained strict, saying: ‘You should not meet with other campaigners indoors... Only rarely will two people be required indoors at the same location.’ So was it necessary for up to 30 people to share a curry late on a Friday night? Separate guidance stated: ‘There should not be any sharing of food and drink by staff who do not share a household.’

Claim: The group continued to work after eating

What Sir Keir says: His story has shifted. In January he said the meal took place ‘between meetings’. Yesterday he suggested he continued working during the meal. ‘At various points people went into the kitchen, got a plate, had some food to eat and got on with their work,’ he said. The unanswered questions: Labour’s claim that work continued after the curry is central to its defence. Sir Keir said it was ‘absurd’ to suggest the meal was the end of his working day. He said he had done an ‘online event for members’, but this finished at 9.18pm. He also stated he had recorded clips for social media. But only one Facebook video appears to have been recorded that day – in daylight hours. Sir Keir also said he had been ‘clearing documents’, but Labour did not provide evidence of this.

Claim: Angela Rayner was not there

What Labour says: In January the party insisted she ‘wasn’t there’. But officials admitted last week she had been present after this newspaper found video footage of her at Durham Miners Hall that evening. The unanswered questions: Labour has failed to explain how the ‘mistake’ could have occurred, when a simple question to Mrs Rayner could have clarified the issue, provided it was met with a straight answer. The party has also declined to say why it did not clarify the situation. In the meantime, it was politically convenient for Labour, allowing Mrs Rayner to take the lead on Partygate, when Sir Keir was facing questions of his own. A senior detective told The Times yesterday that Labour’s lack of straightforwardness had introduced ‘an element of doubt’ about its wider story which merited ‘a proper examination of the facts’.