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Sir Keir Starmer thrown out of pub by furious landlord over lockdown row
The Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has been thrown out of a pub after being confronted by its furious landlord – who had to be restrained by security – over lockdown restrictions.
The landlord of The Raven pub in Bath has kicked out Sir Keir Starmer during the Labour leader's walkabout in the city pic.twitter.com/7byQt2bFqW
— PA Media (@PA) April 19, 2021
The incident occurred during Starmer’s campaign visit to Bath ahead of the May elections, though the Labour leader ran into vociferous opposition in the form of Rod Humphris, who co-runs The Raven pub.
Humphris told Starmer that he was unhappy with the Labour Party’s response to government lockdown measures put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus. The landlord contended that the economy had been sacrificed “because old people are dying”, something that Starmer said he disagreed with.
The exchange initially took place on the street, as Humphris told Sir Keir that he had voted Labour all of his life but the party had “failed him”. He said that Starmer had permitted measures such as “children to wear masks in school when there’s never been any evidence for it”.
The Labour leader then attempted to enter The Raven pub as part of a pre-arranged visit with a separate owner. However, he was followed into the venue by Mr Humprhis who shouted at him to “get out of my pub”. The landlord was restrained but continued, “You are not allowed in my pub. That man is not allowed in my pub. Get out of my pub,” per the Telegraph.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been told to leave the Raven pub in Bath by landlord Rod Humphris, while on a walkabout in the city.
Mr Humphris told reporters: “I think he has utterly failed us as the leader of the Opposition.” pic.twitter.com/Qt4ThM9eVJ
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) April 19, 2021
Mr Humphris said later of the altercation:
“I had heard that the Labour Party were coming round and he turned up and I told him what I thought of him, basically.
“I think he has utterly failed us as the leader of the opposition. He has completely failed to ask the questions that needed asking, like, why did we throw away our previous pandemic preparedness?
“Why have we just accepted lockdown? Why have we just accepted the loss of all our freedoms?”
However, the pub’s co-owner, Tim Perry, has since apologised to the Labour Party.
The pub’s Twitter account posted a message saying there had been “no intention to hijack Keir Starmer’s visit to Bath”.
In lighter news, an overexcited pub goer was seen washing his face with a pint of beer in celebration of the return of beer gardens.