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02nd Oct 2020

Jeremy Corbyn won’t be fined for breaking coronavirus rules

The former Labour leader attended a dinner party with eight other people

Oli Dugmore

Jeremy Corbyn avoids fine for breaching coronavirus regulations

The former Labour leader attended a dinner party with eight other people

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn won’t be fined for attending a dinner party that involved nine people, breaking the coronavirus rule of six.

The dinner commemorated the late David Graeber, a self-described “small-a anarchist” or libertarian socialist, and his widow, the artist Nika Dubrovsky, was also at the table.

Breaching the rule of six in this manner usually warrants a £200 fine.

However, Scotland Yard said the MP will not be fined and that police will not retrospectively enforce coronavirus laws. A spokesperson added that fines are not given retrospectively in order to allow people to listen to advice and follow it better in the future.

Corbyn told The Sun: “I recently had dinner at a friend’s house where the number of guests eventually exceeded five

“I understand that remaining at the dinner was a breach of the rule of six. I apologise for my mistake.”

Sir Keir Starmer, Corbyn’s successor as leader of the Labour party, admonished his old mate for breaking the rules but didn’t call for him to be fined.

The rule breaches cross partisan lines too.

On the same day Corbyn was papped by one of his own mates at dinner and dobbed in to The Sun, Borid Johnson’s father Stanley was also photographed breaking the coronavirus guidance.

Seen in a shop, Stanley is not wearing a mask as is now a legal requirement.

Stanley said he was “extremely sorry” for not wearing a covering for his mouth and nose.

And, as was the case with Corbyn, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Johnson will not face a fine either, for the same reasoning.