Now Left-wingers join calls for answers

LABOUR was accused of being in denial over Beergate yesterday as one of Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench team insisted he was ‘Mr Rules’.

The party was thrown into turmoil by a bombshell document in the Mail on Sunday yesterday which cast doubt on his account of his notorious visit to Durham when he was caught on camera swigging beer.

Even Left-wingers who had previously defended Sir Keir admitted they now believed he had serious questions to answer. But the party’s housing spokesman Lisa Nandy rejected claims the leaked planning memo undermined his version of events.

‘He is Mr Rules, he does not break the rules,’ she told Sky News yesterday. However last night Brendan Clarke-Smith, Tory MP for Bassetlaw, hit back: ‘Mr Rules? Missed the rules more like it.’

Miss Nandy defended Sir Keir over claims he broke lockdown rules, saying: ‘I’m absolutely confident he hasn’t broken the law.’

On Sky News, she insisted: ‘He went on a work visit, he stopped to eat at various times during the day as was factored into the work visit and then he finished the work visit and he went back to his hotel.’

But asked seven times across two interviews if Sir Keir should resign if it is found he broke the law, Miss Nandy refused to answer. Mr Clarke-Smith said he believed Labour was ‘in denial’ over the issue.

‘They have dug themselves a huge hole,’ he added. ‘Rather than continuing to dig, they should hold their hands up, admit they got this wrong and move on.’

Barrister Jolyon Maugham, who has been a donor to Labour, yesterday warned that Beergate was a ‘serious matter’.

The former adviser to Ed Miliband said: ‘I do think there are proper questions which arise for Starmer and his team to answer. As I understand matters, I don’t think this can be ignored. I really wouldn’t want to be placing a bet that Starmer hasn’t broken the law. I think this is a serious matter for him and for Labour.’

Left-wing activist Owen Jones also raised concerns after a report in The Sunday Times. A witness said they were prepared to tell police that the evening curry which Sir Keir ate broke Covid rules because ‘there was no work done’ afterwards as Labour claim.

Mr Jones tweeted: ‘I’ve repeatedly defended Keir Starmer over “Beergate”, which I took to be a desperate Right-wing deflection from Tory scandal.

‘But if this all checks out, then Starmer lied – regardless of whether restrictions were broken – and his position isn’t tenable.’