Police guidelines will ‘increase Sir Keir’s risk of getting Beergate f ine’
LABOUR fears that Sir Keir Starmer could be fined over his alleged ‘Beergate’ Covid breach in April 2021 grew last night after Durham police confirmed they were following tough national guidelines on lockdown offences.
Some Starmer allies have assumed he will escape punishin ment because the Durham force decided not to impose a retrospective penalty on Dominic Cummings for his Barnard Castle trip in 2020. But in a new Freedom of Information (FOI) release, the force made it clear that they have been following the revised guidance in place at the time of the alleged incident involving Sir Keir, his deputy Angela Rayner and other Labour colleagues.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance was toughened early 2021 and led to a surge in Covid-related fixed penalty fines. Last year, more than 23,000 people were prosecuted compared with just over 4,000 in 2020.
Last night, Labour MPs admitted the disclosure will increase concerns that Sir Keir, who has vowed to quit if fined, could get the same sort of FPN that Boris Johnson received for attending his birthday party at No10 in June 2020.
One senior Labour MP even claimed privately that some colleagues would not be unhappy to see Sir Keir fined as it would make way for a ‘more charismatic’ leader.
Allies of Sir Keir dismissed that yesterday and insisted he had broken no rules during the break from campaigning in the local elections. They also claimed it was no secret that Durham police were following the national guidance.
But it emerged last week that police had sent Sir Keir and Ms Rayner, who has also promised to resign if fined, ‘incredibly comprehensive’ questionnaires over the alleged ‘beer and curry’ meeting at the office of Durham MP Mary Foy.
Last night, Tory MP Richard Holden – who made the FOI request – said that Durham police’s answer appeared to show that whatever their final decision, it would not be based on some lenient local policy on retrospective fines. Instead, the only relevant guidance would be the updated national advice for 2021.
Mr Holden said: ‘This may disappoint Labour supporters but in this response, Durham Constabulary seems to be telling me that the only relevant guidance is the updated national police advice for 2021.
‘That guidance appeared to lead to much tougher enforcement against Covid offences.’
However, police sources said that whatever the national guidance, each force would use its own discretion.
Durham police, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, originally ruled out looking into the Beergate incident, saying that ‘no offence has been established’. But in early May the force revealed that ‘following the receipt of significant new information’, it was opening an investigation.
Last night, a spokesman for Sir Keir said the event in Durham had broken no Covid rules.