In a statement, the police said they will not be issuing any fines and no further action will be taken.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Deputy leader Angela Rayner have been cleared of breaking lockdown rules by Durham Police.

In a statement, the police said they will not be issuing any fines and no further action will be taken.

Both Starmer and Rayner had said they would quit their roles if they were found to have broken the law.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have always been clear that no rules were broken in Durham.

“The police have completed their investigation and have agreed, saying that there is no case to answer.”

Durham police had launched an investigation into whether a take-away curry and beer during a campaign visit last year was in breach of Covid-19 rules and regulations.

The Labour leader and other party activists, including deputy leader Angela Rayner, were accused of breaking Covid rules in April 2021 after pictures emerged of him drinking a beer indoors in what became known as ‘beergate’.

The Daily Mail had launched a ‘beergate’ campaign for weeks against Starmer, urging the police to investigate the Labour leader. The paper also desperately tried to claim that Starmer having a beer during a work event was somehow equivalent to the numerous lockdown busting parties which took place in Downing Street and Whitehall.

That campaign has now clearly fallen flat on its face.

After he was cleared of any wrongdoing, Starmer tweeted: “I’ve always said no rules were broken when I was in Durham. The police have completed their investigation and agreed: there is no case to answer.   For me, this was always a matter of principle. Honesty and integrity matter. You will always get that from me.”

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