LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy Angela Rayner have been cleared by Durham constabulary of breaching lockdown rules over a beer and takeaway curry they had with staff during election campaigning last year.

The police announced their investigation had concluded that the gathering on April 30 2021 was reasonably necessary for work purposes, and that no fixed-penalty notices had been issued over it.

Sir Keir and Ms Rayner had promised to resign if they were fined, having called for PM Boris Johnson to step down after he was fined for attending a lockdown-breaching social event in Downing Street.

Both always insisted that no rules had been broken.

In May, Durham constabulary reopened their enquiries into the event in the office of City of Durham MP Mary Foy during the nearby Hartlepool by-election campaign after it said it had received “significant new information.”

Friday’s police statement said it had been concluded that “there is no case to answer.”

Speaking at a press conference, Sir Keir said: “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.

“For me, it was a matter of principle. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that those who make the law can’t break the law.”

Ms Rayner tweeted: “Integrity matters in politics. The contrast with the behaviour of this disgraced prime minister couldn’t be clearer.”

The decision to reopen the police inquiry followed a campaign by Tory MP Richard Holden and more than a week of consecutive front page headlines in the Daily Mail.

Ms Foy said that it was unfortunate that the desire by some Tories “to score political points has led to so much of Durham police’s time being focused on a matter that was already investigated, especially when their resources are already under significant pressure.”