Sir Keir Starmer gambled his political career yesterday on a police investigation into whether he broke coronavirus rules.
In an effort to thrust questions about lockdown breaches back on to Boris Johnson, the Labour leader said that he would “do the right thing and step down” if given a fixed penalty notice.
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Durham police said on Friday that they were investigating whether Starmer broke the rules when he drank beer and ate Indian food in an office on April 30 last year. Under Covid-19 restrictions at the time, people could gather indoors with those outside their households only if necessary for work.
Starmer has accused the Conservatives of “mud-slinging”, insisting the event was work-related and that “no rules were broken”.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to quit as leader of the Labour party if he is fined for breaking coronavirus restrictions by police who are investigating an evening meal in April last year.
The opposition leader is under investigation by the Durham force over allegations that he broke the rules during a campaign event he attended where dinner was served. Starmer was photographed with a beer.
“If I am given a fixed penalty notice I will do the right thing and step down,” Starmer said on Monday. “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws must follow them.”
Starmer drew a distinction with Boris Johnson, who has rejected calls to resign after becoming the first serving British prime minister found to have committed a criminal offence while in office. Johnson was fined after police found he had attended an illegal birthday party held at Downing Street in June 2020 during a Covid-19 lockdown.
“I’m very different to the prime minister in this regard,” Starmer said. “He and others in his party want us to believe that [politicians] are all the same . . . I’m here to show you that is not the case.”
Johnson is waiting for a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into government parties held when coronavirus restrictions were in place. The Metropolitan Police are also investigating other parties that Johnson attended.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, was at the Labour dinner in Durham and said she would also resign if she was issued a fixed penalty notice. Both Starmer and Rayner have insisted that no Covid laws or rules were broken during the event.
Starmer declined to say whether he would quit if Durham police found he had breached coronavirus rules but did not issue a fine.
The Conservative party declined to comment, noting that the police investigation into the Labour leader was ongoing.
One Starmer ally said: “He feels strongly that rulemakers can’t break rules and his own integrity in that respect is very important to him. He does not think he is anywhere near the same category as Johnson but that cannot make him an exception. He has set the bar high and has to be bound by the same standard.”
Starmer’s statement followed days of pressure over the so-called “beergate” scandal, which has prompted the biggest crisis of his leadership. He has faced calls to explain the event following revelations that curry and beer were ordered at a time when indoor socialising was forbidden.
Labour has highlighted that under Covid rules at the time indoor gatherings that were “reasonably necessary” for work purposes were exempt from restrictions.
However, the party’s position has been undermined by a leaked memo to the Mail on Sunday, which suggested the dinner was pre-planned.
Labour also initially denied that Rayner was present at the Durham gathering, then admitted that she was.
People who have spoken to the Labour leader about the police probe say he was certain he would not be fined. “All the advice he is getting is that he didn’t break rules and that the police will confirm that,” one ally said.
According to the pollster YouGov, 48 per cent of Britons said Starmer should resign if he is fined but only 30 per cent believed he had broken restrictions.
A man killed police community support officer Julia James after "ambushing" her in woodland while she walked her dog, a court heard.
Jurors were told Mrs James, 53, was subjected to a "brutal attack" in woods in Snowdown, Kent, in April last year.
Callum Wheeler admitted responsibility for the death at Canterbury Crown Court, but denied murder.
The court heard Mrs James was murdered with a "railway jack", which was later found in the 22-year-old's bedroom.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the jury: "The evidence suggests that her attacker was waiting in the woods for someone to attack and then ambushed her.
She said a "heavy, blunt object" was used to murder Mrs James, and alleged "the weapon was a large railway jack".
This item was later found in the defendant's bedroom, Ms Morgan said.
Kent Police
Prosecutors allege Mr Wheeler was seen wandering around the area carrying the rail jack 24 hours before Mrs James' death.
A man called Neil McMahon saw a man walking along the verge of Spinney Lane towards Aylesham carrying a long blue bag with a bright object protruding from it on the afternoon of 26 April.
Ms Morgan said, if it is correct the object was the rail jack: "It means the defendant was roaming around this area armed with that metal bar 24 hours before he came to attack Julia James."
'Goading police'
The jury heard the day after Mrs James' death, Mr Wheeler was seen walking around with a blue holdall with a long object protruding from it, covered with a Tesco carrier bag.
Ms Morgan said: "The defendant went out again carrying the weapon he had used to kill Julia James. Why he did that is known only to him.
"It could be he was goading the police who were in the vicinity, or it could be he was looking for somewhere to dispose of the weapon.
"He kept a check on the police cordon. He ran away from police officers and concerned members of the public.
"You will want to consider why he was behaving in that manner."
Ms Morgan told the court Mr Wheeler barricaded himself in his room when officers went to his house in Aylesham.
She said: "He made comments that amounted to clear denials, saying he was not guilty and someone had ratted on him.
"But then other comments saying things like: 'Sometimes I do things I cannot control'."
She told the court Mr Wheeler said to one officer: "Five of you ran in here and I didn't even use a... weapon, when there was a weapon right there", allegedly referring to the railway jack.
Ms Morgan went through forensic evidence found on the jack and Mrs James' clothing, including Mr Wheeler's DNA found on her boots, jacket and the white vest she was wearing underneath a jumper.
KM Group
The court also heard Mrs James had seen a man who is alleged to be her killer, Mr Wheeler, in the woods in the months prior to her death.
Ms Morgan told the jury Mr Wheeler repeatedly visited Ackholt Wood, where Mrs James walked her dog. She was found with her Jack Russell dog Toby by her side.
She said on one of those occasions "he saw and was seen by Julia James herself".
Mrs James had been "aware of the presence of a strange male" and had described the man to her husband Paul as a "really weird dude", she added.
She later pointed the man out to Mr James during a walk together about two months before her death.
'Heart rate surged'
It was claimed the moment Mrs James tried to escape her killer was captured in heart rate and walking speed data recorded by her Apple Watch, which had been tracking her movements and biometrics.
Ms Morgan said Mrs James's heart rate had been "relatively stable" at 97 beats per minute prior to the attack.
Moments later it had "launched" to 145 beats per minute, she said, adding: "And that launch is something I will come back to as to where she was and details the escape she was doubtless trying to make at that moment.
"It was at that point that her heart rate surged."
Ms Morgan said of Mr Wheeler: "Although he denied responsibility for the killing for some time, he does now accept he was the person that killed Julia James, however he does not accept he is guilty of the offence of murder."
'Chased her down'
The prosecution claims he intended to kill her or at least cause her really serious harm.
Ms Morgan told the court: "He waited for Julia James or another vulnerable female to be in those woods. Waited to ambush her. He chased her down.
"She ran, desperate to get away from her attacker. Unable to outrun him, caught by surprise wearing wellington boots, he struck her.
"She fell to the ground, she broke her wrist.
"Then when she was face down on the ground he struck her again and again. She had no chance of survival.
"When he hit her in that way repeatedly using that weapon he knew that and he intended it."
Several members of Mrs James's family have attended court to hear the prosecution open the case.
The trial continues.
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A man killed police community support officer Julia James after "ambushing" her in woodland while she walked her dog, a court heard.
Jurors were told Mrs James, 53, was subjected to a "brutal attack" in woods in Snowdown, Kent, in April last year.
Callum Wheeler admitted responsibility for the death at Canterbury Crown Court, but denied murder.
The court heard Mrs James was murdered with a "railway jack", which was later found in the 22-year-old's bedroom.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the jury: "The evidence suggests that her attacker was waiting in the woods for someone to attack and then ambushed her.
"Julia tried to escape her attacker but she was subjected to a brutal and fatal attack. She suffered catastrophic injuries and died where she fell."
She said a "heavy, blunt object" was used to murder Mrs James, and alleged "the weapon was a large railway jack".
This item was later found in the defendant's bedroom, Ms Morgan said.
Kent Police
Prosecutors allege Mr Wheeler was seen wandering around the area carrying the rail jack 24 hours before Mrs James' death.
A man called Neil McMahon saw a man walking along the verge of Spinney Lane towards Aylesham carrying a long blue bag with a bright object protruding from it on the afternoon of 26 April.
Ms Morgan said, if it is correct the object was the rail jack: "It means the defendant was roaming around this area armed with that metal bar 24 hours before he came to attack Julia James."
The court also heard Mrs James had seen a man who is alleged to be her killer, Mr Wheeler, in the woods in the months prior to her death.
Ms Morgan told the jury Mr Wheeler repeatedly visited Ackholt Wood, where Mrs James walked her dog. She was found with her Jack Russell dog Toby by her side.
She said on one of those occasions "he saw and was seen by Julia James herself".
Mrs James had been "aware of the presence of a strange male" and had described the man to her husband Paul as a "really weird dude", she added.
She later pointed the man out to Mr James during a walk together about two months before her death.
'Heart rate surged'
It was claimed the moment Mrs James tried to escape her killer was captured in heart rate and walking speed data recorded by her Apple Watch, which had been tracking her movements and biometrics.
Ms Morgan said Mrs James's heart rate had been "relatively stable" at 97 beats per minute prior to the attack.
Moments later it had "launched" to 145 beats per minute, she said, adding: "And that launch is something I will come back to as to where she was and details the escape she was doubtless trying to make at that moment.
"It was at that point that her heart rate surged."
Ms Morgan said of Mr Wheeler: "Although he denied responsibility for the killing for some time, he does now accept he was the person that killed Julia James, however he does not accept he is guilty of the offence of murder."
Several members of Mrs James's family have attended court to hear the prosecution open the case.
The trial continues.
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.
Tributes have been paid to a "gentle giant", who was named locally after being attacked on a street in Edinburgh.
Liam Maloney, 30, died after he was seriously assaulted on Niddrie Marischal Road in the south-east of the capital at around 8pm on Thursday, May 5.
Emergency services raced to the road, at its junction with Niddrie Marischal Grove, and Liam was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
Tragically, the dad-of-three died from his injuries on Saturday.
Police Scotland have confirmed that they are treating the death as murder, and have launched an investigation.
Liam's family and friends have been left devastated by the news and tributes have flooded in.
Posting a picture of Liam as a toddler, Nicola Russell said: “R.I.P Liam you will be sadly missed. You were such a lovely guy with a big heart and always full of fun. I’ll never forget that.
“Thinking of all the family and the three boys.”
Adele Commons said: “Such a sad day for Niddrie today. Thinking about his boys and all the family who have already been through so much. RIP Liam x”
Leanne Mclaren: “It’s taken all day, Niddrie has lost another one. Liam you’re one funny guy and will be missed by all that knew you.”
Sharing some funny memories of his time with his old pal, Liam Anderson said: “Turned up at my old mans funeral wearing a full tracksuit, the biggest angriest looking dug you will ever see, and that trademark daft smile on his face and a pocket full of goodies.
The man was found injured on Niddrie Marischal Road (Image: Google Street View)
“Liam Maloney was one of a kind. Sleep well brother.”
Nicole Bridgman said: “Rest in peace Liam Maloney, another life taken far to soon. Always had a smile across your face and could put a smile on others with your carry on. Thinking of your beautiful three boys.”
Davie Gare added: “Gutted to see the news about Liam Maloney, he was a great lad and always had a smile on his face! RIP Liam.”
And Bob Collier said: “Still in disbelief man. Liam Maloney, a true gentleman and genuine gentle giant. You’ll never cross paths with a funnier and happier guy.”
Following Liam's death, police enquiries are now underway, with cops gathering CCTV footage from the surrounding area and performing door to door enquiries.
They are also appealing to anyone with any information on the incident to get in touch, and have assured the public in the meantime that there is no wider risk.
Detective Chief Inspector Frank Travers, of the Major Investigation Team, said: "This appears to have been a targeted incident and we do not believe there is any risk to the wider public.
"Extensive police enquiries are ongoing at this time and officers are gathering CCTV footage from the surrounding area.
"Door to door inquiries are also being carried out.
"We will have a continued police presence in the area and I would like to reassure the local community that everything is being done to trace the person responsible.
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"I would ask anyone who was in the Niddrie Marischal Road and Niddrie Marischal Grove area on Thursday night, and who may have seen or heard a disturbance, or witnessed anything suspicious, to please get in touch with us.
"We have also set up a website that gives members of the public access to a form to send information directly to the Major Investigation Team.
"Anyone with any CCTV, dashcam or any other footage that they think would assist the enquiry can also send this via this link.
"You can select to remain anonymous when submitting information.
However Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has played down the prospect of a border poll being called.
The Northern Ireland secretary said the election results were "significant", but pointed out that unionists still have more seats than nationalists at the Northern Ireland Assembly.
"So I think the focus at the moment quite rightly is on getting Stormont back up and running," he told BBC NI's Sunday Politics programme.
Ms O'Neill, who leads the party in Northern Ireland, said on Saturday that the party will be at Stormont on Monday, ready to form an executive.
She said "other parties" need to be ready to form an executive and that there should be "no excuses" or "time wasting".
Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the decision on when to call a border poll rests with the Northern Ireland secretary.
Sinn Féin's ultimate goal is for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and become one country with the Republic of Ireland, but that does not mean a border poll is imminent.
When asked what the criteria is for calling such a poll, Mr Lewis did not answer the question directly, but referred to the results of the assembly election.
He said he intends to meet Stormont party leaders on Monday to try to ensure the power-sharing executive resumes.
All eyes on Stormont
Analysis by Mark Simpson, BBC News correspondent
Politicians in Belfast have big decisions to make and the world is watching.
When governments in London, Dublin and Washington start making statements about Northern Ireland, it is always a sign that a critical moment has been reached.
There is no immediate sign of a power-sharing executive being restored at Stormont following the election.
Behind the scenes, the talking began even before the votes were all counted.
Attention is focused on the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to see whether anything can be done to persuade him to return his party to the executive.
Sinn Féin are waiting.
Michelle O'Neill is ready to become the first republican to hold the top post at Stormont in the 101-year history of Northern Ireland.
Unless something dramatic happens in the next week, it could be a long wait.
He previously said he would be meeting party leaders over the coming days and would urge them to restore the Stormont institutions, starting with the nomination of an assembly speaker within eight days.
While the office of the first and deputy first minister is an equal one with joint power, the allocation of the titles is regarded as symbolically important.
Although Sinn Féin can now nominate a first minister, they cannot take up the office unless the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - the biggest party from the unionist bloc - agrees to nominate a deputy first minister.
Its leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has not yet made a decision on whether the party will do that.
On Saturday, Sir Jeffrey said his party would respect the result of the election, however there needed to be changes made to the protocol.
On Sunday, DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley told the BBC the party had "stood on a manifesto which was the removal of the Northern Ireland Protocol".
"Either the secretary of state wants an executive, or a protocol - he can't have both," he said.
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The US State Department called on the parties "to take the necessary steps to re-establish a power-sharing executive".
"Critical and immediate challenges concerning the economy, health, and education are best addressed through the collective efforts of a devolved government chosen by, and accountable to, its people," spokesperson Ned Price said.
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin said it was "incumbent" on all elected representatives to deliver on their mandate through the nomination of a first and deputy first minister.
"A new power-sharing executive is vital for progress and prosperity for all in Northern Ireland," he added.
A unionist party had always been the largest in the assembly, and previously the Stormont Parliament, since the formation of Northern Ireland in 1921.
For Sinn Féin to be installed in the role of first minister, the majority of unionist assembly members have to agree to form a power-sharing coalition.
The party's director of elections, John Finucane MP, told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme: "We want to sit down and work with every party... to sit down and figure out how we get the executive back up and running."
In her acceptance speech on Saturday, Michelle O'Neill said the "executive needs to be formed immediately" and that people "struggling with the cost of living are relying on us to get on with things and do our jobs".
The executive is at the heart of Northern Ireland's devolved government, made up of ministers nominated to oversee key departments such as health, finance and justice.
Alliance surge
For the first time, the Alliance Party has become the third-biggest in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The centre-ground party won 17 seats - up from the eight it won in 2017 - and 13.5% of first preference votes.
Pacemaker
The party took a number of seats in the assembly election at the expense of the DUP and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said he believes that in some areas his party's supporters also "lent their votes to Sinn Féin".
"I think there's a tide there and people wanted to send a message, they wanted to kick the DUP and I think this is how they decided to do it," he told BBC News NI.
More than a third of the MLAs elected to the assembly are women.
Thirty-two of the 90 MLAs are female, compared with 27 who were elected in 2017.
Labour's Lisa Nandy has defended "Mr Rules" Sir Keir Starmer and said it was "not illegal to eat" after latest claims about alleged COVID rule breaking by the party leader.
Sir Keir has said he was working and stopped to eat when he was filmed having a beer in a room in Durham in April last year - at a time when the rules banned household mixing indoors apart from working.
Durham Police are now investigating the event and a leaked memo obtained by the Mail of Sunday appears to shed new light on what happened - but Ms Nandy accused the Tories of trying to "sling mud".
Image:Police are investigating the event in Durham in April 2021
The Labour leader, who is a former Director of Public Prosecutions, is under pressure over the so-called beergate claims because he has himself been fiercely critical about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's lockdown breach.
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But Ms Nandy told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "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 your own 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, denied that he was there. He came clean and he laughed about it."
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Ms Nandy said that could not be equated with the Labour leader's "work visit with planned breaks to eat".
"It was not illegal to eat," she said.
Ms Nandy declined to say whether Sir Keir should resign if he is found by police to have broken the rules.
She said to do so "lends legitimacy to something that is completely and utterly absurd".
Image:Pic: The Mail On Sunday
"I'm absolutely confident that no rules were broken, not least because this was investigated last time the Conservatives tried to sling mud at us and Keir Starmer was found to be completely in the clear," she said.
"This is a guy who self-isolated six times during the pandemic.
"I don't know a single other person who did that.
"He is Mr Rules, he does not break the rules.
"He was the Director of Public Prosecutions, not somebody who goes round tearing up rules when it suits him, in stark contrast to the prime minister."
But Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, told Sky News: "It's the rank double standards that drive people crazy."
Image:Sir Keir Starmer was described as 'Mr Rules'
The comments came after the memo obtained by the Mail on Sunday indicated the dinner had been listed on the schedule for a day in April 2021 during the local election and Hartlepool by-election campaign.
The document stated that there would be a "dinner in Miners Hall" with City of Durham MP Mary Foy from 8.40pm to 10pm.
A note indicated a member of staff in Sir Keir's office was to arrange a takeaway from the Spice Lounge.
The only business listed after the dinner was for Sir Keir to walk back to his hotel - he has previously claimed he "paused for food" and continued working after the meal, saying "the idea that nobody works at 10 o'clock at night is absurd".
Ms Nandy told Sky News that the note "demonstrates exactly what went on was exactly what Keir Starmer has said went on".
On Saturday, Diane Abbott became the first Labour MP to say publicly that Sir Keir may have to step down if he is fined over the incident.
