UK Health Minister Sacked By Starmer Over Whatsapp Messages

LONDON, Feb 9 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- A Labour member of parliament (MP) who was sacked as a minister by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer over comments made in a WhatsApp group has said he regrets the “badly misjudged” remarks, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

Andrew Gwynne, the MP for Gorton and Denton, has been sacked as health minister and suspended from the Labour Party.

He posted sexist comments about Angela Rayner, racist remarks about Labour MP Diane Abbott and joked about an elderly woman dying in a closed group chat with Labour figures based around Manchester, according to a story in The Mail on Sunday.

The prime minister dismissed Gwynne as a minister as soon as he became aware of the comments, it is understood.

Gwynne posted on X: “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.”

Gwynne posted messages in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, which he shares with more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP, the Mail on Sunday reported.

He made anti-Semitic slights and joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck, the newspaper said.

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.

“The prime minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a government in the service of working people,” a government spokesperson said.

“He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “Andrew Gwynne has been administratively suspended as a member of the Labour Party.

“We are investigating comments made in this WhatsApp group in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures.

“Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members.”

The Conservatives said the posts showed a “rot” in the Labour Party.

“There is a clear contempt for pensioners in the Labour Party. This clearly goes beyond Andrew Gwynne and there is a rot in Labour that needs fixing,” Tory party co-chairman Nigel Huddleston said.

“Andrew Gwynne should not remain a member of the Labour Party – they need to act.”

Gwynne also reportedly made derisive comments about Colin Bailey, 61, the vice-chair of Labour’s Audenshaw branch.

As per the Mail on Sunday, a shocked Bailey – who had campaigned for Gwynne in the past – told the paper that he was “angry” about the comments.

David Sedgwick, whom the Mail on Sunday reports was the councillor who posted a photo of the letter from the pensioner about the bins, said Gwynne’s comments were “totally not acceptable.”

--BERNAMA-dpa