LABOUR ordered £200-worth of takeaway curries for dozens of MPs and aides at Sir Keir Starmer’s Beergate lockdown bash, Trending In The News can reveal.
A delivery driver dropped off biryanis, bhunas and tikka masalas, rice and naan breads for the late-night session — casting fresh doubt on claims it was a work break.
The group, which included deputy leader Angela Rayner, tucked in while swigging bottles of San Miguel — as those in England were banned from socialising indoors.
Witnesses say the gathering went late into the evening, with little sign of anyone going back to work as Sir Keir claims.
Labour said he was in Durham to campaign for the Hartlepool by-election last year — but refused to say whether the cost of the curry was declared under strict election spending rules.
Richard Holden, Tory MP for North West Durham, who has led the demands for a formal probe, said: “Does anyone really believe that 30 people drinking beer and tucking into curry at 10pm on a Friday is a work meeting?
Read more on Beergate
“Did all 30 really go back to work after they finished their biryanis? If not, they have breached the rules and police should investigate.”
It came as:
- THE Sun can reveal two witnesses who filmed the gathering were not interviewed by cops in a light-touch probe in January;
- ANGELA Rayner denied in a Partygate interview that Labour ever had any gatherings while working late hours, and;
- A PAINFUL radio interview saw Sir Keir refuse four times to say if he had spoken to police about Beergate.
A local source confirmed to Trending In The News that food was delivered by award-winning The Capital Indian restaurant to the Durham Miners’ Hall on April 30 last year.
They said: “There was a lot of food. It came to at least £200 and would have fed 25 or 30 people. It was a late-night delivery — the last order of the night.
“It must have been placed around 9pm maybe. Last orders are at 10pm and everything at the restaurant is freshly-cooked, so it would’ve taken time.
“A man came to the door to collect it, but it wasn’t Keir.”
During the first national lockdown, The Capital was hailed by City of Durham’s Labour MP Mary Foy for supplying meals to NHS staff.
She posed for photos in May 2020 with head chef Syed Islam and other staff and said: “This is another heart-warming example of how the communities and businesses in my brilliant constituency look out for one another.”
The restaurant is a four-minute drive from the Miners’ Hall. Restaurant staff declined to comment.
Floundering Sir Keir has been stonewalling about the knees up.
Yesterday, he refused four times to say if police had been in touch again about the bash.
He insisted he went back to work in the middle of the night after sinking beers — saying it was “absurd” to suggest otherwise.
On Monday the ex-prosecutor even refused to say if he would help out with any future inquiry.
Instead, he accused the Tories of “mud-slinging”.
Yesterday he said: “The police looked at this months ago and came to a clear conclusion that was ‘no rules were broken’, and that’s because no rules were broken.”
Asked if he returned to work after the beer, he replied: “Yes, the idea that nobody works at ten o’clock at night is absurd.”
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In December, Ms Rayner told Good Morning Britain: “Both myself and Sir Keir Starmer worked incredibly long hours during the pandemic, as did lots of people up and down this country and businesses, we were consistent as the leadership in our party that there would be no parties, no gatherings, people were working from home.
“We did follow the rules.”
