An investigation into whether Sir Keir Starmer broke COVID rules cost Durham Police over £100,000, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The Labour leader faced accusations after being pictured drinking a beer in an MP’s office in April 2021, with the incident being dubbed “beergate” by the press.
He and his team were later cleared of wrongdoing by the force.
The FOI, put in by National World, showed nine officers from Durham Police’s Major Crimes Team spent approximately 3,203 hours working on the investigation.
And the total cost of the probe was around £101,000, funded by the general policing budget – which itself is paid through government grants and local council tax precepts.
The gathering took place in the run-up to a by-election in the city, with Sir Keir, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, and other members of his team on the ground campaigning.
At the…
