Keir Starmer, leader of the UK’s opposition Labour Party, is
under investigation for an alleged gathering in Durham in 2021 which reportedly
breached lockdown rules, weeks after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fined for
breaking the rules.

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“We can confirm that an investigation into potential
breaches of Covid-19 regulations relating to this gathering is now being
conducted,” Durham Police said in a statement Friday.

The gathering took place in April last year, with a video
later emerging of Starmer drinking beer and eating a takeaway meal inside a
campaign office with party colleagues.

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Starmer is a lawyer and former chief prosecutor for England
and Wales. He insisted that the gathering did not break rules against indoor
gatherings since he was working.

“We’re obviously happy to answer any questions there are
and we remain clear that no rules were broken,” said a Labour Party
spokesperson.

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The police force looked into the event at the time, but
concluded that “no offence had been established”.

But it said Friday that “following the receipt of
significant new information over recent days…, we can confirm that an
investigation into potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations relating to this
gathering is now being conducted”.

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The announcement came a day after local elections, in which
Johnson’s party is likely to lose for his own rule-breaking.

The prime minister and his finance minister Rishi Sunak both
have been fined for attending a gathering in Johnson’s office to celebrate his
birthday in 2020.

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London police are still investigating other potential
breaches of the law by Johnson, who had previously denied breaking the rules he
set for everyone else. When Johnson was under police investigation, Starmer
called it a “mark of shame” and demanded the prime minister resign.

“Even now he is hiding behind a police investigation
into criminality into his home and his office,” Starmer told MPs in
January.

“He gleefully treats what should be a mark of shame as a
welcome shield, but the British people are not fools, they never believed a
word of it, they think the PM should do the decent thing and resign.

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“Of course he won’t because he is a man without shame
and just as he has done throughout his life, he has damaged everyone and
everything around him along the way,” said the Labour leader.