Keir Starmer faces demands for policy probe into lockdown claims | Politics | News

The Prime Minister faces further questions over whether lockdown rules were broken after Downing Street revealed a meeting with a voice coach was also attended by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Tories are demanding a police inquiry into whether lockdown rules were breached.
Dramatist Leonie Mellinger was a โcore part of a small teamโ helping the Labour leader prepare for statements during the coronavirus pandemic, Sir Keirโ Starmer’s press secretary said.
And Ms Reeves was also part of the core team present at a meeting in December.
Sir Keir asked Ms Mellinger to help him prepare his response to Boris Johnsonโs Brexit deal in December 2020, while London was under “Tier 4” lockdown restrictionsโ.
The actress visited Labourโs headquarters to advise Sir Keir, and said she had “permission to travel as a key worker”, it was reported over the weekend. It emerged today that Ms Reeves was also at the meeting.
Sir Keirโs press secretary also said the Prime Minister believed it was not reasonably possible for her to have done the job she was carrying out from home, which is why they met face to face.
A spokesman for Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: โThe key question here is: is a voice coach a key worker who can travel from Tier 4 to Tier 3 during lockdown?
โIt doesnโt matter if youโre part of a core team, that is the question. Now, Keir Starmer said that lawmakers canโt be lawbreakers. It is almost unimaginable to disagree that that was a clear breach of the Covid rules.โ
Asked if Mrs Badenoch thought police should investigate, he said: โYes, she does.โ
Former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised after he was fined for breaching lockdown rules – and was heavily criticsed by Labour.
Sir Keir hit out at the Tories again when he was challenged in Parliament, saying โI was workingโ while the Tories were โpartyingโ.
Gagan Mohindra, Conservative MP for South West Hertfordshire, told the Commons: โI know that like everyone in the House, the Prime Minister is an honourable member.
โOn that basis, can he repeat his assurances that all rules were followed while the country was in tier 4 lockdown in December 2020, not just by him but his team as well, but also his voice coach Leonie Mellinger?โ
The Prime Minister replied: โIn December 2020, I was in my office working on the expected Brexit deal. With my team we had to analyse the deal as it came in at speed, prepare and deliver a live statement at speed on one of the most important issues for our country in recent years.
โThatโs what I was doing. What were they doing?
โSuitcases of food into Downing Street, partying and fighting, vomiting up the walls, leaving the cleaner to remove red wine stains. Thatโs the difference โ I was working, they were partying.โ