‘LOTO events and visits’ document appears to blow apart Starmer’s excuses for his Durham lockdown bash
Keir Starmer’s story about his lockdown drinks in Durham is in tatters this evening after the Mail on Sunday obtained a copy of a LOTO (leader of the opposition) document – marked ‘confidential’ – advertising his itinerary for his visit to Durham (perversely as part of Labour’s campaign for the Hartlepool by-election).
The document advertises the event as a dinner – with planned curry take-out – and even notifies participants specifically that lockdown was in force on the day of the event:
Starmer and Labour have so far insisted that the event was a work evening where a break was taken with a spontaneous decision to send out for a meal and drinks, but the document appears to put beyond any reasonable doubt that dinner was planned – and planned in the full knowledge that the UK was in lockdown. The laws (not ‘rules’ as Starmer now calls them) forbade such gatherings indoors that mixed different households.
The document also makes clear that Rayner’s (‘AR’) attendance was well known to the party and equally planned – and the footage in circulation of the event makes clear that the instruction to maintain social distancing and wear masks was disregarded.
Starmer should already have resigned the moment Durham police re-opened their investigation, having told Boris Johnson to resign for merely being investigated by police for Johnson’s breaches. Now his position is surely untenable – and police must treat him no differently that the Tories who showed the same contempt for the hardship, anguish and heartbreak the rest of us were suffering.
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Who is the leak and do they have access to the Forde report?
Nemtona, I am afraid we are never going to know who the leak is and quite frankly I don’t care, the evidence speak for itself.
My guess is that the Forde report is only accessible to very few and definitively no to rank and file Labour’s staff.
Just because Starmer called them “Laws” it doesn’t make them laws but rather rules. Still rules have to be respected and followed.
Neither, him no Johnson are above the rules and both should offer their resignations.
He didn’t. Starmer called them “rules” instead of “law”. It’s like the term International Rules-Based Order instead of International Law. It’s what slimy bastards defending the Israeli State say when they’ve just stolen some more Palestinian land and want to make it sound less egregious.
In other news, bad day for the DUP with 2 seats waiting for allocation the DUP on 24 even if these two seats are allocated to the DUP (hope no) it wouldn’t be able to outperform Sinn Fein on 27 seats already.
The SDLP has got 7 seats and Alliance 17. No matter what with the seats of Alliance and the SDLP, Sinn Fein has a governing majority and if the DUP decided not to participate in government over the NIP so what?
Stormont would have to call new Elections that the DUP will lose once again and the Tories are in enough trouble to indulge the fancies of the DUP. Hence, the NIP would be passed.
In my opinion this is just the start of it as far as Starmers Labour’s breaches of the rules are concerned. Whether its rule breaking or law breaking ( Rayner called Johnson a criminal for his breaches) is immaterial.
I know that many people now think the whole thing was a con but at the time very few did and most people made sacrifices during lockdown in an effort to keep themselves and others safe. Those that didn’t (like Johnson and Starmer) displayed a very unpleasant arrogance – it seemed they felt they were above the rules that applied to us plebs.
It is said that 20 -30 people were at the event in Durham- they’ll all have to be investigated too and all email documentation- invites, menu choices, possibly drinks choices, correspondence with the Miners Hall, the take away concerned etc will have to be handed over to the police so if anyone has been telling lies ( as indicated by the programme) that will soon be apparent.
Also I’d be amazed if this was the only such event which the leader, members of the PLP or staffers participated in. If I’m right Starmers Labour will need to brace itself for further revelations and accusations of hypocrisy. I also think Rayners remarks about criminals and criminality will come back to bite her.
Smartboy, Starmer & co have been in breach of Labour Party’s rules from the start.
They have gone used to get away with breaking rules, to the point that they thought the rules only applied to the Tories but no to them.
What is interesting is that in the memo the need to maintain social distance is mentioned, only to break the rules anyway. We have Emily Thornberry on the BBC explaining that if the rules have been broken it was done inadvertently, no like the Tories that everything was plan in advance.
I agree with you Rayners’s penchant for “emotive” language will come to haunt her.
I hope so Maria V
His costly, ‘continuity Corbynism’ glossy brochure campaign to become leader, was nothing short of a subversion of democracy.
Someone that unprincipled is capable of anything.
Rayner always shoots from the script. I think that it is long overdue for Corner of the Yard to initiate sniffergate or at least weekly testing for the lot of them. Just think of all of those potential elections, all those seats. I would love to hear the excuses for no testing. To be honest I don’t think the voting electorate would give a damn. Children, starvation, inflation, misleading the house, none of it bothers them. The richest family in the land has just paid a fortune to a wronged woman and the result is tumbleweed. Quite right. Such activities develop out of thin air and who are we to expect the truth?
I don’t hope one way or another. A parliamentarian with a criminal record should be an ex-parliamentarian whether they are Tory or Labour, left or right.
This sounds like a job for the DPP.
On the strength of this document I think Starmer will be cleared – the COVID parameters are to the fore, there is mention of only two individuals having dinner and only twenty minutes are allotted for the event.
Retract – 1 hour 20 mins, which does pivot away from a gulp and go toward a more social interaction. Even so, unless the redacted section hides the names of multiple other invitees this is not a slam dunk. Bottom line – if Starmer is proven guilty then he should go as should Johnson and if some neutralisation of both convictions is the settlement that is reached between the parties then it only makes more apparent how corrupt they are.
What bothers me with with both Johnson and Starmer isn’t that they broke the rules. It’s because they were not scared about it.
Why would two of the most informed people in the UK ignore official advice? Why did Professor Ferguson go against his own advice? Surely a leg over isn’t worth the risk?!
No one is talking about how these events show us it was all a lie…
In other news, VP of Pfizer has been arrested.
Pushing drugs?
NVL it was always a scam and big pharma were the beneficiary along with Big brother draconian measures against the majority working class of Britain.They made the laws Johnson ably assisted by parliament and there must be sanctions against the two leaders of the criminal conspiracy to pervert the law of the land.whether they new about the chances of contacting covid is immaterial but perverting justice is a serious offence against Her majesty and can carry a sentence of incarceration which surely must be targeted at the knight of the realm for insu!ting Her Royal highness in her jubilee year.God save the queen..?
Technically, any event attended by Keir Woodplank Starmer cannot be described as a party.
I cannot imagine anyone spending 1h15m with him for fun. The beer must be essential to numb the feelings of despair.
Even when it is a party, the presence of Keir Starmer makes it automatcally cease to be a party.
It’s a universal law. A party touched by Keir Starmer becomes a non party.
The first party in history where the participants threw up before a drop was drunk.
Purely on a technical point
But
The Glorious 12th went ahead during Covid as it was covered by ‘Business meetings’ exclusions
One rule for Two Cheeks
Methinks
Temporary Embarrassment will get away with it
Bent as a nine bob note
Drinking alcohol @ work? Is this what puts the Party in Labour?
Labour Party Animal
In the 80’s I joined the Streatham Young Conservatives, because of the parties. Just didn’t tell them that I was in the CPGB. It was a good move. Like m.ps I’ll have a drop of subsidized booze with anyone, but I draw the line at Their Parties. Know what I mean.
……….& maybe that’s why the growler’ aka Angela Rayner was ‘officially’ never there. A complete categorical & official denial of the truth (courtesy of the Sun?). I don’t think that the murderous Boris knows what the truth is but if Sir Keir wants to know he can always ask Rupert Murcdoch.
Defending Starmer Lisa Nandy calls him “Mr Rules”.
tut tut…
Sir Rules if you don’t mind.
Arwyn
Nandy was the one who warned the rest of them off when they were referring to partygate a “criminal” act and Rayner was calling Johnson a “criminal” because of it.
In my opinion Nandy did that because she knew or suspected that the rules had been ignored by Starmers Labour too and she didn’t want the same accusations of criminality levelled at them when it all came out – as it undoubtedly will.
in other news – The rouble is at its highest point against the dollar since 7th August 2018. The US strategy of bankrupting Russia looks like it was ill-conceived.
You’ll have changed all your cash into roubles then? No? Oh ….
Joe, I did as it happens. Before the war started I bought rubles and sold them yesterday……
It’s a game of chess, and the Russians are very good at it.
“all your cash” – chance would be a fine thing.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Caribbean, dentists and surgeons are working overtime to remove splinters from the digestive tract of a certain poster who hasn’t appeared in the last few days; after gnawing on his furniture. in an uncontrollable, abject rage that – yet again – all his predictions of smarmerite success were turned to shite…