LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he will "do the right thing and step down" if he is fined for breaking coronavirus rules in an investigation by Durham Police.

Speaking at party headquarters in London, the Labour leader said he did not believe rules had been broken when he drank a beer and ate a takeaway while campaigning in Durham last year.

He said: “I believe in honour, integrity and the principle that those who make the rules must follow them.”

He took a further swipe at Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has so far refused to resign after being fined for breaching the Covid laws he wrote after having a birthday party in his office attended by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Johnson's wife Carrie.

“I believe that politicians who undermine that principle, undermine trust in politics, undermine our democracy and undermine Britain,” he said.

“I am absolutely clear that no laws were broken. They were followed at all times. I simply had something to eat while working late in the evening as any politician would do days before an election.

“If the police decided to issue me with a fixed penalty notice I would course do the right thing and step down.”

The Prime Minister and Chancellor both refused to step down from their roles in Government after receiving a fine from the Metropolitan Police for a gathering on Boris Johnson’s birthday in 2020, which included cake and singing.

Sir Keir has called on the Prime Minister to step down from his position after Downing Street confirmed Boris Johnson was one of around 30 to receive a fine.

Labour says the food was consumed between work events, meaning it was within the rules despite the ban on indoor socialising.

A leaked memo also showed the working dinner was a planned part of the day's schedule; no work was scheduled for after the meal on the memo.