Photo emerges of Sir Keir Starmer drinking a beer with staff last year when Covid rules were still in place
- Keir Starmer has been a vocal critic of Boris Johnson over Number 10 party row
- Senior Tories have now claimed the Labour leader is an ‘absolute hypocrite’
- They pointed to picture of Sir Keir drinking a beer with Labour staff last year
Senior Tories have accused Sir Keir Starmer of being an ‘absolute hypocrite’ over the Downing Street party row.
Sir Keir has slammed Boris Johnson over revelations about Covid rule-busting events in Number 10 and has called on the Prime Minister to resign.
But Tory figures have criticised Sir Keir, highlighting a picture of the Labour leader from last year which appeared to show him drinking a beer while chatting to party staff indoors.
Tory figures have criticised Sir Keir, highlighting a picture of the Labour leader from last year which appeared to show him drinking a beer while chatting to party staff indoors
The image was captured in May 2021 when Sir Keir was visiting a Labour constituency office in Durham ahead of the Hartlepool by-election.
The image was taken through the window of the building and appeared to show Sir Keir holding a beer while speaking to two people, with two more people in the background.
England was in step two of Mr Johnson’s lockdown exit roadmap at the time which stated that indoor mixing between households was not allowed, unless it was for work.
A Tory source told The Telegraph: ‘Sir Keir has spent the past two months criticising people for doing the exact same thing he’s been doing himself. He is an absolute hypocrite.’
Mr Johnson had raised the photograph during Prime Minister’s Questions on December 15 after Sir Keir had grilled him about an alleged Christmas party in Number 10 in December 2020.
The PM said: ‘I have repeatedly answered that question before. As the right honourable and learned gentleman knows, a report is being delivered to me by the Cabinet Secretary into exactly what went on.
Sir Keir has slammed Boris Johnson over revelations about Covid rule-busting events in Number 10 and has called on the Prime Minister to resign
‘The right honourable and learned gentleman might explain why there are pictures of him quaffing beer – we have not heard him do so.’
A Labour spokesman pointed The Telegraph to the party’s previous statement relating to the photograph in which it said no rules had been broken.
The statement issued at the time said: ‘Keir was in the workplace, meeting a local MP in her constituency office and participating in an online Labour Party event.
‘They paused for dinner as the meeting was during the evening.’
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