Is there a Tory ‘attack unit’?
Labour shadow attorney general accuses Tories of a smear campaign against Keir Starmer

Emily Thornberry has said a Tory “attack unit” is behind the so-called beergate furore that has forced Keir Starmer to say he will resign if he is found by police to have broken lockdown rules.
The Labour shadow attorney general made the comments when discussing the allegations with LBC’s Andrew Marr, and suggested that Durham police had been goaded into investigating the incident further by a Tory campaign force.
“The Conservative party has something called an attack unit which has been working overtime, according to The Sunday Times, with various people in Durham putting together something they have given to Durham police,” she told Marr.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When asked by Marr if she thought the police had been “intimidated by the press”, she answered: “I think that the Conservative party central office believes that it is in their political interest to try to smear Keir Starmer and to try to make sure that all politicians are seen as the same.”
Thornberry’s comments referenced an article in The Sunday Times by chief political commentator Tim Shipman, which assessed Boris Johnson’s chances in the next general election, despite being “roasted” in last week’s local elections.
Shipman wrote that the announcement by Durham police on Friday that they would further investigate a beer and curry enjoyed by Starmer and his staff during a campaign last year was a “success for the CCHQ attack unit” and named its leading figures as Ross Kempsell, the political director of Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ), and Alex Wild, head of communications for CCHQ.
Alongside local Tory MP Richard Holden, they “dug up details about the event to undermine claims that it was simply a pause for food in the working day”, reported Shipman. He added that Conservative sources also said they had been “helped on the ground by hard-left Labour activists who resent Starmer replacing Jeremy Corbyn”.
Wild has been described in the past as a “punchy, attack-minded operator” whose style is to “defend the PM from the front foot”, according to Politico’s London Playbook, while Kempsell, once a Times Radio correspondent, is known to be a trusted advisor to the prime minister who has won praise for his work across CCHQ.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Elon Musk has his 'legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Labour and the so-called 'banter ban'
Talking Point Critics are claiming that a clause in the new Employment Rights Bill will spell the end of free-flowing pub conversation
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK
-
UK-US trade deal: can Keir Starmer trust Donald Trump?
Today's Big Question White House insiders say an agreement is 'two weeks' away but can Britain believe it?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
How might Trump's tariffs affect the luxury goods market?
Today's Big Question Luxury clothes, cars and watches could take a hit in the coming months
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Did China sabotage British Steel?
Today's Big Question Emergency situation at Scunthorpe blast furnaces could be due to 'neglect', but caution needed, says business secretary
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Could Trump's tariff war be his undoing with the GOP?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The catastrophic effects of the president's 'Liberation Day' tariffs might create a serious wedge between him and the rest of the Republican party
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Is Elon Musk's DOGE job coming to an end?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Plummeting popularity, a stinging electoral defeat and Tesla's shrinking market share could be pulling the tech billionaire out of Trump's presidential orbit
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US