London, May 9 (PTI) Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of Britain's Opposition Labour Party, on Monday made a pledge to resign from his post if he is found to have breached the COVID-19 lockdown rules related to an alleged "beergate" gathering in April last year.

Starmer made the statement after days of speculation since Durham Police confirmed last week it was investigating the case after "significant new information" emerged, having initially concluded that no offence had occurred when the Labour leader was pictured holding a beer with some colleagues.

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The Opposition leader came under pressure as he had previously called for the resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak after they were fined by police for the “partygate” scandal of a birthday party at 10 Downing Street in June 2020.

"If the police decide to issue me with a fixed penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and step down," Starmer told reporters at a press conference at the Labour Party headquarters in London.

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In his statement, Starmer said he admired the “collective sacrifice” of the British public during the pandemic, who were “unable to see dying loved ones” and spoke about how he was unable to help his father-in-law after his mother-in-law died during lockdown.

"People are entitled to expect that politicians followed the same rules as everyone else. We all found the rules frustrating at times, and I am no exception to that. I had to isolate six times," he said, in reference to his self-isolation after either testing positive for COVID-19 or coming in contact with someone who had tested positive over the past two years.

In a clear attempt at regaining the moral high ground in the ongoing debate over the breach of lockdown rules, the lawyer and former Director of Public Prosecutions said he believed in "honour and integrity" and the principle of following the rule of law.

"And I believe those who undermine that principle undermine trust in politics, undermine democracy, and undermine Britain," said Starmer.

It emerged over the weekend that a "curry" meal was ordered as a takeaway at the end of a campaign event in Durham for an upcoming by-election at the time on April 30 last year, when the Labour leader was pictured through a window holding a bottle of beer. He has maintained ever since the picture first emerged that no rules were broken.

"I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening, as any politician would do days before an election," he reiterated in his statement.

Labour's Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, who was at the same event, also said no rules were broken and made a similar pledge that she would resign from her post if police issued her with a fixed penalty notice or a fine usually worth GBP 100.

At the time, gatherings indoors with people from outside your own household or so-called support bubble was against the law to control the spread of coronavirus. There were some exemptions permitted for "work purposes".

Lisa Nandy, Labour's Indian-origin shadow minister for levelling up and among the frontrunners in the event of a leadership race, has defended her party leader.

"I'm absolutely confident that no rules were broken, not least because this was investigated last time the Conservatives tried to sling mud at us and Keir Starmer was found to be completely in the clear," she told ‘Sky News'.

"He is Mr Rules, he does not break the rules. He was the Director of Public Prosecutions, not somebody who goes round tearing up rules when it suits him, in stark contrast to the Prime Minister," she said, pointing to around 50 fines issued in recent weeks for parties involving government officials in breach of lockdown rules.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)