The former Durham police chief condemned attempts to force his former forces to investigate Keir Starmer on allegations of violating Covid’s rules as “hypocritical” and “dangerous” and said there was no evidence that the Labor leader had broken the law.
Michael Barton, Durham’s chief police officer until 2019, said the pressure on the police to investigate was politically motivated. During his reign, Durham was considered one of the best performing police forces.
Although the Labor leader initially struggled to answer questions about the event in interviews, he said Durham police had not contacted him about drinking beer and eating at home with staff in the constituency last year, as he said. that he has always been “very careful” to follow the blocking rules.
Labor said food for home was needed for campaign staff who continued to work while eating. But reports call into question the amount of food and alcohol delivered, as well as Labor’s claim that there are no alternatives to dinner.
Barton said of those pressuring the police to investigate, including Conservative MPs and right-wing newspapers: “They are using the operational police as political football, which is dangerous and must be condemned.
“For the same people who said that Dominic Cummings had done nothing wrong, the requirement for police action was both hypocritical and dangerous. This means that the operational police are involved in a political minefield. “
He said all the circumstances surrounding Starmer were very different from those surrounding Boris Johnson’s breach of the law.
Barton said: “The only reason these crimes need to be looked at retrospectively is if the people who made the law broke the law. That is why it was extremely important that the Westminster meetings be investigated. “
He likened those who demanded that Starmer be investigated to malicious neighbors harassing police with annoying complaints: Here’s what it is.
“Just because someone drinks beer doesn’t mean it’s a social gathering. There is no rule against alcohol. “
Starmer said the food was ordered as staff prepared an online event for members. “In Durham, all the restaurants and pubs were closed, so eating out was really the only way to eat. So it was imported and at different times people went to the kitchen and had something to eat and went on with their work, “he said.
He added: “We were very careful to follow the rules … and we did it in my family. My wife’s father is very old and had to defend himself in difficult circumstances that I will not enter. My wife went and sat on the sidewalk in front of his house. All she wanted to do, like many families, was go in and clean, but she didn’t because the rules didn’t allow her. So I know how it feels. “
Starmer had previously accused the Tories of “smearing mud” over allegations that he had violated Covid’s rules to divert attention from the prime minister’s own violation of the law, for which he was issued a notice with a fixed sanction.
Johnson paid a fine for attending his birthday party in June 2020 and is still under investigation for his alleged presence at several other parties.
A spokesman for the Durham Force said earlier: “Durham police reviewed the videos recorded in Durham on April 30, 2021. We do not believe that a violation of the law and guidelines in force at the time has been identified and therefore will not take further action on this issue. “
Subsequently, the forces confirmed that they had received a large amount of correspondence on the issue and would respond in a timely manner.
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