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Second Labour MP apologises over comments in WhatsApp group
Oliver Ryan said the messages were ‘completely unacceptable’ after Sir Keir Starmer sacked Andrew Gwynne as health minister
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Burnley MP Oliver Ryan is being investigated by the Labour Party over “unacceptable and deeply disappointing” comments in a WhatsApp group that had sacked health minister Andrew Gwynne as a member.
Ryan apologised for some of his own texts “which I deeply regret and would not make today”.
The chief whip will be speaking with the MP and “no action is off the table”, a Government source said.
Ryan, who is gay, appeared to mock a fellow Labour MP over his sexuality in exchanges in the chat Trigger Me Timbers, the Daily Mail reported.
The newspaper does not name the MP being mocked in the group and notes he has never discussed his sexuality publicly and is not known to be gay.
Ryan is also said to have used an offensive nickname to refer to local Labour leader Colin Bailey.
He became an MP in July and was previously a Tameside councillor.
Ryan said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Between 2019 and early 2022, I was a member of a WhatsApp group created by my MP and former employer, Andrew Gwynne.
“Some of the comments made in that group were completely unacceptable, and I fully condemn them.
“I regret not speaking out at the time, and I recognise that failing to do so was wrong.
“I did not see every message, but I accept responsibility for not being more proactive in challenging what was said.
“I also made some comments myself which I deeply regret and would not make today and for that, I wholeheartedly apologise.
“I will co-operate fully with the Labour Party’s investigation.”
Earlier housing minister Matthew Pennycook could not say if others in the chat will be suspended, but suggested the Prime Minister could take action based on what the investigation finds.
Gwynne said the messages were “badly misjudged” after Sir Keir Starmer sacked him as health minister and suspended him from the Labour Party.
If any other Labour MP or minister falls short he will act to uphold the highest standards in public office
Matthew Pennycook, Labour
The MP for Gorton and Denton reportedly posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner and racist remarks about Labour MP Diane Abbott, and was also said to have joked in the private group chat with Labour figures based around Manchester about an elderly woman’s death.
Mr Pennycook told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News: “I don’t know, personally, what other people on that WhatsApp conversation have said… I’ve been very clear, there’s an investigation taking place into the whole incident.”
“What the public can take from the way the Prime Minister has acted decisively in this case to dismiss Andrew Gwynne, is that if any other Labour MP or minister falls short he will act to uphold the highest standards in public office,” Mr Pennycook said.
The Prime Minister dismissed Mr Gwynne as a minister as soon as he became aware of the comments, it is understood.
The language the MP reportedly used in his messages is “completely unacceptable” and “in some instances, it’s deeply concerning”, Mr Pennycook added.
Mr Gwynne posted on X on Saturday apologising for any offence caused but did not suggest he would stand down as an MP.
“I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offence I’ve caused. I’ve served the Labour Party all my life and it was a huge honour to be appointed a minister by Keir Starmer.
“I entirely understand the decisions the PM and the party have taken and, while very sad to have been suspended, will support them in any way I can,” he wrote.
Mr Gwynne posted messages in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, which included more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP, the Mail on Sunday reported.
The newspaper said his comments included antisemitic slights and a joke about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.
He also reportedly wrote in one message that he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon have “croaked it” after she asked a councillor, who shared the message in the group, about her bins.
If the Prime Minister doesn’t take action against everyone in that group very quickly, we know that there is still a problem in the Labour Party
Alex Burghart, Conservatives
A senior Conservative said the mention of the elderly woman was “nasty”, and suggested that a message in which Mr Gwynne is said to have written that someone’s name sounded “too Jewish”, is “sinister”.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart questioned whether any other members of the chat group called out the alleged antisemitic comment.
“That is a very serious remark, and if the Prime Minister doesn’t take action against everyone in that group very quickly, we know that there is still a problem in the Labour Party,” he told Trevor Phillips.
Mr Pennycook said: “An investigation is taking place, and any action that needs to follow from that investigation will be seen through.
“I don’t think anyone can be in any doubt about this Prime Minister or this Government’s commitment to upholding the highest standards in public office and to rooting out antisemitism from the Labour Party, root and branch.”
A Government spokesman said on Saturday that Sir Keir “will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case”.
