Labour 'ready' for general election Keir Starmer says after beergate conclusion

The party leader told reporters he has a “plan for the country” and called for a “fresh start” in a press conference after Durham Constabulary confirmed they would not be handing out fines.

He and his deputy, Angela Rayner, had promised to resign if they were handed fixed penalty notices, having been accused of breaking Covid laws at a campaigning event in Durham last summer.

Speaking from central London this afternoon, Sir Keir welcomed the findings and said it had been a “very good week” for the Labour Party.

“People said to me I was taking a risk by saying I would step down if I was fined. But it was never about that,” he said.

“For me it was a matter of principle. It shouldn’t be controversial to say those who make the law can’t break the law. But we have to set the bar far higher than that.”

He added: “The contrast between the Tory party, which is tearing itself apart with a cast list of wannabe leaders, they’ve all propped up this Prime Minister for months and months and months knowing he’s unfit for office.

“Contrast that to the Labour Party: We’re united, we want to press on with a plan for Britain, and the change we want is more fundamental than a change at the top of the Conservative Party.

“So this is a very good week for the Labour Party and my challenge to the Tories is not ‘who’s your next leader gonna be’, but ‘give us the change we really need, let’s have a general election, let’s have a change of government, a fresh start for our country’.”

“We're ready for a general election - let's get on with it. If there's a general election this Government will fall".

Sir Keir was videoed drinking a bottle of beer over a takeaway curry with colleagues in the offices of MP, Mary Foy.

At the time, non-essential 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.

Durham Police initially investigated and found there was no evidence of rule-breaking, but looked at the case again following the intervention of North West Durham Tory MP Richard Holden in April.

A Durham Police statement released on Friday said: “Following the application of the evidential Full Code Test, it has been concluded that there is no case to answer for a contravention of the regulations, due to the application of an exception, namely reasonably necessary work.

“Accordingly, Durham Constabulary will not be issuing any fixed-penalty notices in respect of the gathering and no further action will be taken.”