Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner will not be fined by police following an investigation into whether he broke lockdown rules.
Durham police, which was investigating allegations the pair broke Covid rules last year, confirmed the Labour leader and his deputy have not been issued with fixed penalty notices.
They had both pledged to resign if they had been fined for eating curry and drinking beer at an event in the town last year, when lockdown rules were still in place.
In a statement, Durham police said their investigation found that the event was “reasonably necessary work” and therefore allowed under the rules.
“Accordingly, Durham Constabulary will not be issuing any fixed penalty notices in respect of the gathering and no further action will be taken,” the force said.
In a tweet, Starmer said: “I’ve always said no rules were broken when I was in Durham.
“The police have completed their investigation and agreed: there is no case to answer.
“For me, this was always a matter of principle. Honesty and integrity matter. You will always get that from me.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have always been clear that no rules were broken in Durham. The police have completed their investigation and have agreed saying that there is no case to answer.”
Durham Constabularly re-opened their investigation into whether Starmer breached anti-Covid laws by eating a curry and drinking beer with Labour staff in the constituency office of City of Durham MP Mary Foy on April 30, 2021.
Starmer has said he was “confident no rules were broken” and that there was “no equivalence” between the accusations levied at him and the parties that took place in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Both he and Rayner stated that they would stand down from their posts if they had received a fine in a move that was seen as a massive political gamble.
The news will be greeted with relief in Labour circles that the party will not have to endure a leadership election just as the Conservatives begin electing Boris Johnson’s successor following his dramatic resignation yesterday.