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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he will quit if given a fine by Durham police for breaking lockdown rules.
But speaking to reporters, the Labour leader insisted he was "absolutely clear that no rules were broken".
Angela Rayner also confirmed she would step down if issued with a fine.
Sir Keir has been under pressure after police announced a probe into an event in April 2021, when he had curry and beer at an MP's office during an election campaign visit.
Conservatives had accused Sir Keir of "rank double standards" as the opposition leader had previously called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to resign over attending Downing Street lockdown events.
Sir Keir said his accusers were "just trying to feed cynicism" about politicians.
Deputy Labour leader Ms Rayner said in her statement that she would "do the decent thing and step down" if she was issued with a fixed penalty notice.
Durham police launched their inquiry on Friday after the local elections, having previously said they did not believe an offence had been committed.
It's thought the police investigation could last up to eight weeks.
This is a massive gamble from Sir Keir Starmer - but one where circumstance, in his judgement, made the alternative worse.
Say nothing and be politically crippled for up to two months, while the police decide what to do.
A former director of public prosecutions, steeped in the law, who called for the prime minister and chancellor to resign for breaking the rules, unwilling to confirm what he'd do if the same thing happens.
Instead Sir Keir has said if he's fined he'll resign.
This means he can reclaim - at least some - moral high ground and say the moral bar he set for others is the one he'll hold himself to.
It places a colossal responsibility on the shoulders of Durham police: their decision could finish the political career of a man who hopes to be the next prime minister.
It means in the short term Keir Starmer has some political room for manoeuvre.
In the long term, if he avoids a fine, it could help define him - and his character - in the public's mind.
If he doesn't, it's curtains for him, and a Labour leadership race will beckon.
Addressing the issue on Monday, Sir Keir said he had "always followed the rules" and outlined how Covid rules had prevented him from offering support to his father-in-law when his wife's mother died.
"Barely a day has passed when we haven't agonised over that decision," he said.
He reiterated his insistence that he had not broken the rules and suggested his opponents "didn't believe it themselves" but were simply trying "to get the public to believe all politicians are the same".
"I'm here to say they are not - I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the laws should follow them," he added.
"If the police decide to issue me with a fixed-penalty notice, I would of course do the right thing and step down."
Asked what he would do if he were found to have breached the regulations, but not fined, Sir Keir replied: "The penalty for a Covid breach is a fixed penalty notice - I've set out what the position is for that."
Labour sources told the BBC's political editor Chris Mason, that the party leader sought advice from senior figures within the party before making his statement - there were strongly-held differences of opinion about what he should do, but he decided go with what was his own initial instinct.
His supporters hope, if he's not fined, this will help define Sir Keir in the public's mind, and, as one put it, be a "clear dividing line" with the prime minister.
"He could come to personify what the British people like - decency and fairness," one said, adding, "if he falls he does for Boris as well".
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The event under investigation took place at the constituency office of City of Durham Labour MP Mary Foy during campaigning ahead of the Hartlepool by-election, where Sir Keir drank beer and ate curry, while lockdown restrictions were in place.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: "Keir was working. A takeaway was made available in the kitchen, and he ate between work demands. No rules were broken."
And Ms Foy dismissed allegations that some people who had been in her office were drunk as "untrue", adding: "I do not believe either I or my office staff broke any [Covid] rules."
Responding to Sir Keir's statement, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said it was "a matter for Sir Keir".
"Let's wait for the investigation to proceed to see what else might come out," she added.
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Keir Starmer: I'll quit if given Covid lockdown fine by police - BBC
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