‘Keir is Mr Rules.This is mud-slinging’
LABOUR’S Lisa Nandy has defended party leader Sir Keir Starmer over claims he broke coronavirus lockdown rules, saying: “I’m absolutely confident that he hasn’t broken the law.”
The Shadow Secretary Of State For Levelling Up, Housing And Communities said her boss “is Mr Rules, he does not break the rules” as she accused the Conservatives of an “absolutely desperate attempt to sling mud”.
Her comments came as Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab accused Sir Keir of “complete hypocrisy” over the Durham beer-and-curry event being investigated by police.
Asked if Sir Keir should quit, Mr Raab told Sky News: “He needs to fess up and answer all of the holes in the account that he gave.”
He added: “Keir Starmer looks like, I’m afraid, someone who is engaged in complete hypocrisy, complete double standards and I don’t think he is going to get past that until he gives a proper account of what happened in Durham.”
The Conservatives’ Jacob Rees-Mogg, meanwhile, told Channel 4’s Andrew Neil Show: “The difficulty for Sir Keir is he said – before any result of any investigation – that the Prime Minister should resign, which sets a rather high standard and I think the issue for him is one of judgment.”
Asked if Sir Keir should quit if he was found to have broken the law, Mr ReesMogg said: “I think he should pay a fine and then talk about the issues of great importance to the nation.”
Ms Nandy told Sky News: “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.
“I think...we’ve seen an absolutely desperate attempt to sling mud at the Labour leader and various members of the Labour Party and it is frankly absurd of the Tories to claim that this in any way equates to a prime minister who was under investigation by the police for 12 separate gatherings which included karaoke parties, bring-yourown-bottle parties, pub quizzes, suitcases full of wine being smuggled through the back door.
“The Prime Minister lied about that. He denied that they happened, he denied that he was there, he came clean and he laughed about it.
“Keir Starmer went on a work visit and had a break to eat. The idea that this is the same sort of thing is just a sign of a Government that’s tired, is desperate and is completely out of ideas that spends more time slinging mud at the Labour Party than working out how they’re going to deal with pensioners who are now struggling so much to heat their homes that they’re having to get on buses in order to avoid the cold.”
Asked if it was found Sir Keir broke the law, should he resign, she told Sky News: “Look, I’m not going to get into that, because I’m absolutely confident that he hasn’t broken the law.”
She added: “Because it lends legitimacy to something that is completely and utterly absurd – that is a desperate attempt by the Government to deflect from the fact that we’ve got the highest inflation rate in a generation and people are struggling to survive.
“This is a guy who’s self-isolated six times during the pandemic. I don’t know a single other person who did that.
A leaked memo indicated the takeaway in Durham had been planned as part of Sir Keir’s itinerary for the day of campaigning in April 2021 and, no further work was scheduled after the dinner. Allies of Sir Keir insisted that the curry was eaten between work events.