We may observe that Starmer would not have given this undertaking if he had not been sure that he would not be punished, but it was undoubtedly a risk. he took it and won the bet. Durham Police concluded that the rally at the Miners’ Hall in April last year was legal “due to the application of an exception, namely reasonably necessary work”. So if Johnson were still clinging to office, Starmer would have a huge advantage at Prime Minister’s Questions next week. He would have been advised not to milk it himself – nobody likes someone who proclaims his own moral virtue – but others could have pointed it out to him and he could have asked about crime and mentioned the rule of law.
