Labour has launched an urgent investigation into a WhatsApp group in which the Labour MP Andrew Gwynne posted “completely unacceptable” messages, a minister has said.
Gwynne, 50, was sacked as a health minister after reports he shared racist remarks about Diane Abbott and sexist comments about Angela Rayner, and joked about an elderly woman dying before the next election.
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The remarks were posted in a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, which reportedly included more than a dozen Labour councillors, party officials and at least one other MP.
The housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, said on Sunday there would be an investigation into the matter – which could result in the suspension of other Labour figures.
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The Mail on Sunday reported that Gwynne’s 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 rubbish bins.
Black humour forums. They invariably turn bad as people try to push the boundary, and people are often unaware of how big the circulation is leading them to basically speak publicly when they think they are speaking to small trusted circle.
Personally, I think private communication is private and people should never be held accountable for private thoughts. Even when shared with a family member or friend. It’s why therapy sessions are private. Sometimes we have intrusive thoughts that need to come out in a safe space.
However, if that “trusted circle” grows unchecked and becomes an organisation, it becomes a cancer in that organisation. At what point does it transition from healthy to unhealthy? I couldn’t tell you.