Starmer and Rayner return ‘beergate’ forms to police

SIR KEIR STARMER and Angela Rayner have handed in their “beergate” questionnaires to police, as they wait to hear if they will be forced to resign over the incident.

The Labour leader and deputy leader have responded to Durham Constabulary by returning their questionnaires over the incident.

The Telegraph understands that Sir Keir has taken legal advice when filling in the form.

The final decision by the force is expected next month, and the Labour Party will be told of the findings before they are announced publicly.

If either of the two politicians are fined then they are expected to resign, after pledging to do so last month, when the police reopened the investigation.

Durham Constabulary is 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.

At the time of the gathering, nonessential retail and outdoor venues, including pub gardens, were open, but 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 police announced it had reversed an earlier decision that no offence had been committed, after receiving “significant new information”.

Labour sources said last month that Sir Keir could escape the incident without having to resign if he is found to have broken the law but is not fined.

Sources close to the Labour leader and one member of his shadow cabinet

‘The law around breaching Covid rules is that you get a fixed-penalty notice. We can only speak to the law on it’

suggested that the issuing of a fixedpenalty notice (FPN) was the threshold for whether the law was broken, and any other reprimand from the force would not be a resigning matter.

“The law around breaching Covid regulations is that you get a fixed-penalty notice,” said a senior party source. “We can only speak to the law on it.”

Dominic Cummings was reported to the force in 2020 for his trip to Barnard Castle during lockdown. Durham police chose not to issue the FPN but did say the rules “may” have been broken.