Durham Police to Investigate Kier Starmer over breaking lockdown rules

Adam Wagner, a Human Rights Lawer, was interviewed about half an hour ago on the News - I think it was Sky but it could have been the BBC.

The first point he made was that the Durham Police will have to explain why they have changed their policy that was used in the case of Domonic Cummings visit to Barnard Castle, not to take retrograde action .

It's unlikely that the police would say this was because of pressure from the Government (my view) but if it was shown that it was AW stated that this would be not only wrong but illegal.

Mr Wagner suggested that the schedule of events was evidence in Keir Starmer's favour in that it was an organised work event including feeding the people working there and including social distancing rules.

He pointed out that all the events picked up by the Met Police were social events. They included, for example, a Birthday Party, a Leaving party and a Christmas Party. I think he said the Met had not followed up the "party" in the garden (where the PM's wife was present) because it was not a specific social event but that probably needs clarifying as it is just from my memory.

It would be good if the various TV "News" programmes got more legal people on rather than just political talking heads often with no real knowledge. It would be preferable to hear facts rather than fiction.

You can view the article online as it is yesterday's.

There's a link to it in my post at 10.33 this morning.

According to the Guardian yesterday, as referenced in "Analysis" by Jim Waterson (page 13), the person who first shared it widely was Laurence Fox. The student had sent it to friends, who uploaded it to a wider audience, one of whom was the said Laurence Fox. You can view the article online as it is yesterday's.
From the Durham student's viewpoint, you need to put it in the context of the draconian methods used to restrain students during lockdown in Durham. I know that for a fact as one grandson was at Durham during that time. They had security guards patrolling the grounds and felt like they were prisoners. Indeed, prisoners probably had more freedom. I can understand the student feeling disgruntled. It was his third year, no face to face teaching and no social life.
It looks to me, as DaisyAnne says, like the end of an intense day of campaigning. I rather imagine, that apart from the 'photo opportunity' aspect, Boris hasn't a clue how much hard work goes into those by ordinary workers, especially if it is a big campaign day. People come from all over to take part and then a few remain behind to process data, sort leaflets for the next day's session and plan strategy.

volver

news.sky.com/video/beergate-footage-shows-starmer-drinking-beer-with-colleagues-during-campaigning-12606825#

What a total non story! A man standing in a corner drinking his own bottle of beer. Would tea have caused less outrage?
If that's the accusers' idea of a party, I'm glad I wasn't invited either.

What a slimy world this is when some people seem to spend their time crawling round trying to catch people out, and other people seem to wet themselves with glee about it.

Agree with all the above.

If that's a party, I'm glad I wasn't invited.

For what it's worth (absolutely nothing, to be honest), it looks like winding up the end of a day of canvassing to me.

Unintended consequences. The article from Palatinate:

www.palatinate.org.uk/i-didnt-want-to-help-boris-says-durham-student-who-filmed-starmer-drinking-beer-in-lockdown/

Agreed, MaizieD.

Do you think it could have been filmed from the road, which must be a good 200 metres away and the building doesn't face it square on?

Viewed it now. No way, is my answer to my own question...

volver

^Apart from one rather indistinct still from the video, which we've all seen as it's been reproduced all over the place, has anyone seen the actual video?^

I watched the video on some news site last night. It shows four people, one of them is Starmer drinking a bottle of beer "by the neck" and trying to keep his distance from the woman beside him. Two guys in the background, one of them wolfing down mouthfuls, presumably of curry. One person walks by in the background.

I'll see if I can find it.

Thanks, volver.

Do you think it could have been filmed from the road, which must be a good 200 metres away and the building doesn't face it square on?

(I do know, I've marched from the Miner's Hall. I pass it frequently)

news.sky.com/video/beergate-footage-shows-starmer-drinking-beer-with-colleagues-during-campaigning-12606825#

Apart from one rather indistinct still from the video, which we've all seen as it's been reproduced all over the place, has anyone seen the actual video?

I watched the video on some news site last night. It shows four people, one of them is Starmer drinking a bottle of beer "by the neck" and trying to keep his distance from the woman beside him. Two guys in the background, one of them wolfing down mouthfuls, presumably of curry. One person walks by in the background.

I'll see if I can find it.

DaisyAnne

If you can see the interview Lisa Nandy has just done on the BBC it is well worth viewing.

We have a very smirking host (you can hardly call them journalists these days). However, Lisa Nandy got to make the point about what we should be talking about these days. And therein lies the issue. The television news is about as substantial as the bottom of the heap right-wing papers. They concentrate almost exclusively on the salacious.

Who would have guessed we had just had local elections in which the Tory Party were trounced. Who would have guessed we are having the worst cost of living crisis since the 1950s, that unemployment benefits are seeing their biggest fall in 50 years. Who would have guessed that the problems of Brexit have become problems for us all and a life-changing challenge for many.

Who would have thought that those media organisations that were once thought to be the embodiment of good in a pretty murky marketplace have now fallen so low that real news no longer counts.

That post more or less sums up for me where we are in this country.

Everything has now descended to the lowest common denominator.

Is it any wonder that the young educated no longer go to the msm for their information.

I'm intrigued by the students who lurked outside the Durham Miners' Hall and videoed the group, at a distance, through the window. Who were they? why would they be tailing Starmer? Because I know exactly where the Miner's Hall is and that it is well set back from the road. It's not in a position where you could walk past on the road, glance in a window and see what was going on. You'd have to be in the grounds and looking for the 'right' window. I've posted a picture. There are a lot of windows...

From the Guardian, querying why the story, which barely made the MSM at all when first published, has now hit the headlines

The original footage was filmed on 30 April 2021 by a third-year student at the University of Durham. They anonymously told the student newspaper Palatinate that they happened to pass the building when they saw “something that I thought was an injustice and decided to film it because it made me angry”.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/06/media-keir-starmer-lockdown-beer-footage

I don't believe this at all. As I said, there is no way at all that you could see what was going on from the road. Just lighted windows at the most.

Apart from one rather indistinct still from the video, which we've all seen as it's been reproduced all over the place, has anyone seen the actual video? Twitter tells me that the student is claiming that the police didn't ask them for a copy of it, yet it was apparently viewed by the police in the initial 'investigation'. There are claims being made that don't add up.

I agree DaisyAnne I'd vote for a "purdah" on the media feeding frenzy on gatherings by whatever stripe until the police have completed all their investigations and the Sue Gray report is published.

If you can see the interview Lisa Nandy has just done on the BBC it is well worth viewing.

We have a very smirking host (you can hardly call them journalists these days). However, Lisa Nandy got to make the point about what we should be talking about these days. And therein lies the issue. The television news is about as substantial as the bottom of the heap right-wing papers. They concentrate almost exclusively on the salacious.

Who would have guessed we had just had local elections in which the Tory Party were trounced. Who would have guessed we are having the worst cost of living crisis since the 1950s, that unemployment benefits are seeing their biggest fall in 50 years. Who would have guessed that the problems of Brexit have become problems for us all and a life-changing challenge for many.

Who would have thought that those media organisations that were once thought to be the embodiment of good in a pretty murky marketplace have now fallen so low that real news no longer counts.

I suppose my view Galaxy is that there was nothing wrong at all in what they were doing, as far as I can see. Perhaps the Durham police will find that what they were doing was against the rules in some way, we'll have to wait and see.

I do understand that people in the public eye have to be careful about how they appear, but at the moment I can't see that they were doing anything that wasn't allowed, or was even discouraged, whereas Johnson's antics of a year earlier, when we were in complete lockdown, are a different story all together.

And yes absolutely that he should have anticipated that certain sections of the press are out to get him. We will never have another labour government if we dont learn to cope with that.

I think when he attacked Johnson it might have been worth reflecting if there was any situation that he had been in that could blow up in his face. I dont particularly blame him but I am vaguely irritated that we are having to deal with this. Dear god knowing how sections of the labour party feel about Starmer I would have been particularly cautious at that specific meeting.

Starmer is in more danger of losing the party leadership from
some in the Labour Party .

If he hadn't been so sanctimonious and preachy re Boris, he wouldn't have been put in the situation of having to eat his own words. I liked him (Starmer) until he kept getting up on his soapbox.

maddyone

No idea who Starker is

Now that would be a story

What do you mean Galaxy? That he didn't have a takeaway? That he didn't drink a bottle of beer in front of a window when all these things were allowed? That he focussed on actually running a by-election campaign instead of worrying about the guy with the camera outside the window?

That he should have anticipated that the Tory Party and their house journal would get so desperate that they would make stuff up about him?

No idea who Starker is

Starmer even…….